Super Mario Bros Z-Fan Reboot
by dun300
Summary: This is a reboot of AlvinEarthworm's awesome series, Super Mario Bros. Z. If you haven't heard about it, I highly recommend that you watch it on Youtube, especially if you love huge over-the-top fight scenes and well crafted sprite animation.
1. Prologue

Super Mario Bros. Z-Fan Reboot

On a beautiful, sunny day in the Mushroom Kingdom, a Goomba was taking his morning walk, as was normal in his schedule. He was going about his business without a care, not expecting today to be any different than any other day.

That is, until he spotted something on the ground.

"Hmm? Wuzzat?"

In order to answer this, the Goomba went in for a closer look.

It was a large, blue diamond, roughly the same size of a man's fist. Its value, more than the Goomba or anyone else in the Mushroom Kingdom could possibly imagine.

Or to put it in simple terms.

"Looks like some kind of shiny rock."

The Goomba checked to make sure no one would see him take it.

"Well, no else seems to be around. I doubt anybody would mind if I took it."

He took the diamond.

"This will make a great gift for Goombella. Maybe she'll finally go out with me once I-"

All of a sudden, it had gotten dark.

"Huh?" The Goomba asked totally confused. "What's going on? Is there a storm coming?"

If it was, it was like no storm this little Goomba has seen before, as a ball of light surging with electricity started to converge right in front of him.

"What the great galloping goombas is that?!"

The ball of light pulsated and surged with each passing second until it finally exploded. And in the ball of light's place was a blue robot designed to look somewhat like a hedgehog. It was tall, it's feet looked like red shoes with a white stripe in the middle and it's eyes were black aside from a thin glowing red line that went from side to side with an orange light in the middle.

The robot approached the shaking Goomba and said only five words to it in a cold, mechanical voice.

"Give me the Chaos Emerald!"

Terrified and confused, the Goomba answered back, "Chaos Emerald? What's a Chaos Emerald?"

Instead of answering, the robot pointed his arm at him and it transformed into a cannon. The cannon charged itself with a ball of energy.

"No, wait!" The Goomba begged. But his words fell on deaf ears. "STOP!"

* * *

 _Hi! I just wanted to let you know that this is my first time writing here on and I have no idea what I'm doing. More importantly, I wanted to tell you why I'm writing this in the first_ _place. You see, I just watched SMBZ a few days ago and it was one of the awesomest things I've seen on the internet. So you could imagine my disappointment when I found out that AlvinEarthworm cancelled the series. Yes, he has made a reboot since then, but he's also been struggling with his physical and mental health so who knows when episode two will come out._

 _And Ever since then I've been trying to find some fanfiction out their that could appease my urge for more SMBZ. But I couldn't find anything that could do the job. Everything was just reboots or sequels and even though I did find one continuation on Youtube it turned out to be terrible. With no one able to truly give me the SMBZ continuation I wanted, I decided I'd have to make it myself._

 _But before I could continue the story, I'd first have to retell it. Because the way you tell a story is just as important as the story you tell. And I want you guys to tell me if I am doing AlvinEarthworm's awesome series justice. I'm also open to suggestions to what the plot of the new episodes will be. Keep in mind though that I am basing this series off of Alvin's plans for it and am trying to keep as close to them as possible. But other than that, I am open to all suggestions._

 _I hope that you've enjoyed this scene as I retold it and hope for some good feedback._


	2. Bowser's Return-Part 1

At the Nintendo Stadium in the Mushroom Kingdom, crowds were going wild as they waited for the main event to begin. Announcing the event was a lakitu wearing a headset being followed by another lakitu carrying a camera with a fishing rod.

"Good afternoon Kart fans and welcome to the 5th annual Mario Kart Grand Prix. I am your host, Lakilarry. We will now kick things off with a head to head race between fierce rivals."

Lakilarry and the camerlakitu floated down to get a better look at the competitors.

"Introducing first, riding in Red Fire, the Heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi of the Mario Brothers!"

The Mario Bros. tipped their hats and waved at their fans as the crowd cheered their names.

"And their opponents, riding in Brute, the almighty alter-egos, Wario and Waluigi. Give it up for the Wario Brothers."

Wario gave two rock-on symbols and a triumphant laugh to the crowd. They booed him. Waluigi appears to be the only one who noticed and expressed his frustration with an "Oh, come on."

"We'd also like to dedicate this Grand Prix," Lakilarry continued, "to our beloved princess of the Mushroom Kingdom."

The camealakitu moved in close to the princess so that everyone at home would see her face.

"Please give a big hand to our very own, Princess Peach."

Peach was seated at the luxury suite overseeing the entire stadium next to her royal advisor, Toadsworth. Peach waves to the crowd and lets out a giggle.

"Without further ado," Lakilarry said, "let's get this race underway."

The two racers start their engines. Another lakitu carrying a start light appears in front of them to signal the start of the race. The lights start to turn on one by one and once all three were green, the race had begun.

Unfortunately for our heroes, Mario had put too much pedal to the medal and as a result, as soon as the Mario Bros. were ready to start driving the engine exploded in their faces, knocking Luigi out of the car and covering both Mario and the front of the car in ash.

The Wario Bros. however, had no such problem and were able to take a huge lead while laughing at the Mario Bros. misfortune.

"Oh my," Lakilarry announced. "The Mario Bros. appear to have a problem."

Luigi tried to get the engine to work again, first by jumping up and down on it, then by smacking it with a hammer over and over again, then by dancing on it for some reason which urged Mario to shout, "Hurry up already!"

Luigi got an idea. He reached into his overalls to find something useful and pulled out a golden mushroom. He gently tried to put the mushroom on top of the engine before it took off like a rocket leaving behind a trail of fire. They went so fast that they were easily able to pass the Wario Bros. despite the lead they got.

This did not go unnoticed by the Wario Bros. and Wario told Waluigi to do something. So Waluigi reached into his overalls and pulled out a red mushroom and used it on the Brute. This made the Brute become bigger and drive faster.

With this, the Wario Bros. managed to catch up with the Red Fire and started bashing its bumper. But they were still not ahead of it. To fix this, Waluigi pulled out a lightning bolt and the Red Fire and its passengers were struck by lightning, shrinking them to the size of toys.

"Mamma Mia!" Mario said as he realized what just happened.

With their opponents now tiny, the Wario Bros. had no problem catching up to our heroes and flattening them under the Brute's tires.

"Bye-bye!" The Wario Bros. laughed as they made their way to the finish line.

At this point, the lightning bolt's effect had worn off and the Mario Bros. were ready for payback. Luigi dropped a red mushroom of his own into the Red Fire and it started speeding up after the Wario Bros.

"Wow, what an amazing heated race!" Lakilarry exclaimed. "Neither team are showing any signs of slowing down. Both Karts now neck and neck as they approach the finish line."

It's anyone's race! Or at least it was until a giant pink bob-omb fell out of the sky in front of the finish line.

Our competitors were shocked by this sudden turn of events and unable to stop their Karts in time before crashing into it. Both Karts and their passengers were sent flying from the ensuing explosion.

"Mario! Luigi!" Peach exclaimed concerned for her heroes.

While Wario and Waluigi were sent blasting off, our heroes managed to remain inside the stadium, albeit without the most graceful or painless of landings. Mario looked up to the sky and saw a familiar face riding on a Koopa Clown Copter. The bomber leapt from the copter and landed in the middle of the stadium. Then a Magikoopa riding on a broomstick flown next to him and presented him to the audience.

"Presenting," the Magikoopa exclaimed, "the great king of all Koopas and soon to be master of the Mushroom Kingdom, I give you…the amazing Bowser!"

The audience booed at the mention of his name while Bowser just laughed and acted as if they gave him a standing ovation.

"Thank you! Thank you! It's great to be here!" Bowser stepped up to Mario and stared down at his hated nemesis. "Well, hello there Mario. Sorry to "crash" your little "Mario Party", but today, I have a date with destiny."

Lakilarry could tell exactly what was going on. "Oh no! He wants to kidnap the princess!"

"Huh?" Upon hearing this Bowser turned to face Lakilarry. "Hey, cloudboy! How did you know about my plan?"

Considering that kidnapping the princess is Bowser's only plan it wasn't hard to figure out. The fact that Bowser seems to have so little self-awareness caused Mario to faceplant.

"Oh well, no matter. That's only half of my plan. For you," Bowser said directed at Mario, "my dear mushroom munching moron have been a thorn in my side for far too long. So I've decided the only fitting punishment would be to beat the living tar out of you in front of all of your fans."

Mario let out a laugh, sure that this plan would go about as well as Bowser's plan to kidnap the princess.

"Oh? You don't think I can, do ya? Why don't you put your money where your mustache is? It's GO TIME!"

Mario got ready for a fight. Luigi however ran away to cower. Mario tried to convince his brother to fight by his side but he just ran away again.

Bowser laughed at Luigi's cowardice. "Your lousy chicken of a brother always cracks me up. But I'm done talking with you Mario! Let's finish this!"


	3. Bowser's Return-Part 2

Bowser started off the fight by hurling fireballs at Mario. Mario jumped and dodged every one if them without a hit and ran straight for Bowser. Changing tactics, Bowser stopped spewing fireballs and tried to smash Mario with one giant fist, but Mario dodged that too.

Mario landed right behind Bowser and rushed at him. When Bowser turned around to face him, he was sent back with a punch to the face followed by a kick to the chin that knocked him on his shell. Bowser rolled up into a ball and rolled towards Mario.

Mario: Mamma Mia!

Bowser uncurled as soon as he was within striking distance and tried to attack Mario with his claws. Mario barely managed to avoid each strike and leapt to the air, delivering a kick to his enemy that was countered by Bowser's punch. Bowser then grabbed Mario by the leg and slammed him into the ground once then twice.

Dazed from the beating, Mario couldn't defend himself in time from Bowser's left hook. He was knocked straight into his brother Luigi, who at this point was trying to avoid the fight as much as he possibly could.

Luigi: Mario?

Bowser ran straight towards the Mario Bros. but Luigi woke his brother up in time to dodge his attack.

Luigi: Mario!

Unfortunately, Luigi wasn't so lucky. With Mario out of the way, the other Mario brother had to bear the brunt of Bowser's attack. Bowser jumped to the air and landed in front of Luigi, the shockwave lifting him off the ground. Bowser then punched Luigi so hard it launched him into the audience. The audience itself managed to get out of the way, so Luigi ended up crashing into the seats, knocking him out.

Mario: Luigi!

Mario was scared for his brother's safety while Bowser just laughed over it. This made Mario extra mad. He pulled out a hammer and tried to hit Bowser with it only for the Koopa King to hide in his shell. Mario kept bashing at it with the hammer trying to get him out but nothing worked.

Bowser's shell then spun around, knocking the hammer out of Mario's hands and sending it flying. Boser then leapt to the air and tried to smash Mario with his shell. Mario jumped out of the way before Bowser could crash, leaving behind a giant hole.

Mario was surprised when the ground started shaking; he looked down and realized what was happening. Bowser was digging his way up in order to kill Mario. Mario jumped before the shell could emerge. And as he kept running the shell tried to smash on top of him only to miss, try to dig itself underneath Mario and smash on top of him again.

Bowser then popped out behind Mario.

Bowser: You're mine!

Mario however, struck him with a blow to the stomach followed by an uppercut.

The crowd cheered Mario's name as Bowser was launched to the air and landed on his stomach.

Lakilarry: Incredible! What an intense battle! The Koopa King appears to be down for now, but it's still anyone's game!

Peach: You can do it Mario. I believe in you.

Bowser got up. Slammed his fists to the ground and let out a roar at Mario's direction. He then took a deep breath, charging up one of his biggest fireballs ever.

Seeing this, Mario pulled out a Fire Flower and turned himself into Fire Mario. He then began charging a fireball of his own to counter Bowser's.

Both combatants eventually let their fireballs loose, and the two projectiles crashed into each other, creating a giant explosion. Before the smoke could clear, Bowser shot out another fireball. Bit Mario caught it with his hands and tossed it aside. He then fired a fireball of his own until Bowser did the same thing. And on this went until Bowser changed targets.

Instead of firing at Mario, he shot a fireball straight to the sky, where it exploded into more fireballs that rained down on the stadium. The audience ran to the exit as fast as they could, barely managing to avoid being blown to bits.

Bowser laughed at the carnage while Mario prepared for another attack. Then Bowser noticed one member of the audience that hasn't left yet, Mario's knocked out brother Luigi. Mario turned to look at what Bowser was looking at and then saw Bowser charging another fireball to fire at his brother.

Mario leapt up to the fireball's path and countered it with a fireball of his just before it could hit him. It was a struggle, but Mario managed to send the fireball right back at Bowser. Bowser was so stunned to see this he could barely defend himself before the fireball hit.

Mario charged at Bowser for another attack, but Bowser leapt out of the cloud of smoke to crush Mario. Mario dodged Bowser's fist and delivered an uppercut to his stomach. Bowser used this to grab Mario and jumped straight to the sky. When they began to fall down, Bowser placed Mario underneath him in order to body slam the poor plumber.

Before they could hit the ground, Mario shot a fireball down, and it was just slow enough for Bowser to collide with it with his face. This sent Bowser spinning so that Mario was now on top of him. Mario then sped up Bowser's descent with a charged fireball, taking Bowser straight to the ground and slamming into one of the empty stands, reducing it to rubble.

Bowser got up and said a few words to our hero.

Bowser: rrrggghhh…owwww…That smarts.

As Bowser stood up, he groaned in pain from the crash.

Bowser: Not bad, Mario. You've certainly been taking your megavitamins lately. You're a lot tougher than before. But, did you really think I didn't prepare for this outcome? Kamek! Now!

Kamek flew in right over his boss' head

Kamek: Parappa the Rapper!

And out of his wand came a metal mushroom. Bowser caught the metal mushroom and let out a hearty evil laugh.

Bowser: You thought you and you're brother were the only ones that could use power-ups? Check this out!

Bowser ate the power-up. At first it looked like he was in pain. Then light began to erupt from his body, until a brilliant burst of light made it impossible to see him.

Lakilarry: Don't touch that remote, Kart racing fans! It looks like King Bowser is transforming into something!

Mario looked away from the light, ready to face whatever Bowser was turning into. When the light faded, every inch of Bowser's sin was replaced with solid metal.

Bowser: Aww yeah! How'd you like me now?! Say hello to "Metal Bowser! And goodbye to your worthless existence!"

* * *

 _Hey, sorry for cutting this fight in the middle like this but it's been going on for a while and I know that fight scenes are more exciting to watch then to read about. I'll deliver the thrilling conclusion tomorrow. Until then, I eagerly await any feedback._


	4. Bowser's Return-Part 3

Bowser rushes straight at Mario, his new metal form not slowing him down in the slightest. He curls up to a ball that Mario just barely avoids getting flattened by.

Mario: Mamma Mia!

Metal Bowser turns around and tries to roll over Mario again. Mario fires two fireballs at him but they both bounce off Bowser's metal shell. Seeing this, all Mario could do was run away as Bowser kept chasing after him. Mario leaps to the side and Bowser crashes into the stands. Bowser walks away from the destroyed stand and Mario tries to greet him with a kick to the chin. As his foot connected, a clang noise was heard followed by Mario clutching his foot and howling in pain. Bowser laughed as Mario hooped around clutching his nearly broken foot.

Bowser took this opportunity to grab Mario by the face and slam him into the dirt. Hard. Bowser then chucked Mario into the sky and leapt up after him so that he could knock him back down even harder. He then positioned himself to land on the plumber, squashing him like a bug. Mario had just managed to see this and cartwheeled himself to safety.

Bowser landed where Mario was lying down and ended up kicking up a bunch of dirt. Mario got set for Bowser to come charging at him again but wasn't anticipating Bowser to instead start spitting out fireballs. Once again, Mario just barely managed to avoid direct contact with these projectiles, leaping and jumping all over the stadium.

As he was running, Mario saw something lying on the ground, it was his mallet. Mario rushed towards it, grabbed it, and started rushing towards Bowser. Bowser tried to stop Mario by throwing a chunk of the track at him. But Mario leapt towards it and used it as a platform to jump closer to Bowser. Bowser shot off a fireball while Mario countered it with his own. Mario appeared out of the smoke from the resulting explosion and tried to smash Bowser's head in with his hammer.

It worked about as well as kicking him did.

Mario was shaking from the hammer's vibrations having way more of an effect on it than Bowser, until the shaking caused Mario to let go, throwing the hammer up in the air and having it land on Mario's head, beating him into the ground.

Mario was dazed and stuck in the ground while Bowser laughed at his arch-enemy's humiliation. Mario tried to get himself unstuck but couldn't get out before Bowser curled back into his shell and slammed into Mario sending him flying. Bowser then rushed forward and slammed Mario into the sky. While Mario was helpless, Bowser leapt up and slammed into Mario with his shell, again and again and again, until body slamming Mario back to the ground, creating a large crater.

Bowser got up, pulled Mario out of the crater and punched him into the stands.

Mario was exhausted but he was not giving up, he got out of the stands ready to continue the fight.

Bowser: Oh? So you want more of this, huh? You sure are a glutton for punishment.

Mario was panting, physically drained, but he was not going to lose. He charged up his fireball and let loose a stream of flames towards his metal adversary. The explosion it made when it hit Bowser was humongous.

Then silence.

No sound was made aside from the wind blowing and Mario's panting. He was waiting for the smoke to clear, to see his enemy fallen.

Toadsworth: *Phew* I can't handle all this excitement. Did he finally get that rapscallion?

Princess Peach let out a scream, followed by Toadsworth and Mario shouting "Oh no!" as the smoke cleared and Bowser was completely unaffected.

Bowser: Bwahahahah! Was that puny spark seriously your best? Pathetic! Weak! Tell you what, how about an old pro show you how it's done? Prepare to be schooled!

Bowser began charging up his own fire powers and let out a burst of flames more powerful than anything he released before. Mario tried to brace himself, but the fire was so powerful, it destroyed the stand behind him. Mario never stood a chance. And while the power-up did keep Mario from getting killed, it didn't stop him passing out.

And as one Mario Brother lost consciousness, the other regained it. And Luigi panicked as he saw his brother lying on the ground, burnt and beaten.

Luigi: Mario!

Peach: Mario!

Bowser: Bwahahahah! Oh, how the mighty have fallen! To think, you used to be a real pain in my shell way back when. Now look at you. Face down in the dirt like the lowly worm you are; broken and helpless, with no one around to save you. Oh well. No point beating around the bush. I've been waiting a long time for this moment.

Bowser began charging up another fireball to finish the fight.

Bowser: Game over, Mario. Huh?

Put before Bowser could inhale, Luigi jumped from the stands in front of his fallen brother and stuck his arms out to his sides as a sign of protection.

Peach: Luigi!

Bowser: Hmm? So you finally woke up, Mr. Green Stache? You should've stayed unconscious, if you knew what was good for you. Do you really think a wimpy little coward like you can protect him from me? Tell you what, since I'm in such a good mood, I'll allow you to scurry off and hide. Unless you want to get flame broiled alongside your brother?

Luigi was scared. He was more scared here and now than nearly any other moment in his life. But he wasn't going to back down when his brother needed him.

Bowser: Very well, then! You can regret your decision in the afterlife! Both you and Mario shall die together!

Bowser began charging up another burst of fire as Luigi shut his eyes before facing his end. Toadsworth was in a complete panic, running around the luxury suite while Peach prayed to whoever would listen for a miracle.

Peach: Please! Star Spirits! Somebody! Anybody! Please help us!

Lakilarry: Oh, this is truly terrible, Kart fans! Mario is down for the count! Is this the end?! Has Bowser finally won?!

But just right then, when all seemed hopeless, a miracle had occurred. High above everyone's head, a ball of light surging with electricity began to grow and grow until a large, round metal pod with an orange plunger on it took its place and began to fall onto the stadium like a meteor.

Lakilarry and the cameralakitu had just barely managed to avoid getting their heads smashed in by the strange object.

Bowser: SAY GOODBYE!

Bowser however wasn't so lucky. Just as he was about to fire his, er, fire, the pod slammed on top of him, knocking him into the ground. The pod bounced until it landed next to the bleachers. And with the pod actually managing to have hurt Bowser, his one-up had worn off and he wasn't Metal Bowser anymore.

Bowser rubbed his head as he wondered what just happened.

Bowser: Unngghh… What the heck was that?

Bowser looked himself up and down as he realized he wasn't metal anymore.

Bowser: What the…! Where did my metal form go? Kamek! Quick! Toss me another metal 'shroom!

Kamek: Err… Sorry. No can do, your Rudeness. We're fresh out of metal 'shrooms.

Bowser:What do you mean "fresh out"? You're a gosh darned Magikoopa! Can't you just conjure one up, you imbecile?!

Luigi, having expected to be dead already, opened one eye and realized that Bowser is back to normal. He turned to his brother and pulled out a 1-up mushroom. He opened his brother's mouth and force-fed him the mushroom, waking him up. Mario shook the ash off him and gave his brother a big thumbs up and thanks.

Mario: Just what I needed.

Bowser: Bah! I don't need the metal 'shroom to beat Mario now. I'll just mosey on over and—Oh no!

Bowser saw Mario not lying on the ground covered in ash, but walking right towards him. Mario stopped to pull a cape feather out of his overalls and used it to transform into Cape Mario. Mario took to the skies and gave Bowser the beating of a lifetime.

He kicked him in the face so hard it sent him flying, he delivered an uppercut that shot him into the air and he let loose with a flurry of fists that Bowser had no way of defending himself from. Mario kicked Bowser backed to the surface and flew straight down to deliver the final blow. But as he descended, he heard Peach scream. He turned to see Kamek pointing his wand at the princess.

Mario: Oh no!

Kamek: That's enough, Mario! I suggest you cease your attack or else the princess gets it.

Peach: No! Don't listen to him, Mario! You have to keep fighting! You have to defeat Boser!

Mario continued his flight path down towards Bowser. Bowser screamed as he woke up and saw Mario winding up his arm for a vicious punch. Mario hit the ground and a cloud of dirt was kicked up from the impact.

Bowser was shocked to have realized that Mario didn't hit him, but the ground next to him. Mario pulled his fist out of the dirt and stared angrily at Kamek.

Kamek: Nyeheheheh! I knew he wouldn't have the guts to go through with it with your safety on the line! Now, Mario, I suggest you be a good boy and stay put, or else Princess Peach here will be living the rest of her life as a goomba.

Mario: Grrrr…

Mario was furious at Kamek for stooping so low, but he knew he couldn't disobey at the cost of Peach's safety. Mario hung his head low and resigned himself to his fate. Bowser got up and walked right behind him.

Bowser: How very resourceful of you, Kamek. Even the most steadfast of heroes will fold when there's a hostage involved. Now hold still, Mario. I will make this quick and painless!

Remember that pod from earlier? Well, before Bowser could move, it popped open and two spikey-headed figures popped out. They saw Kamek holding the Peach hostage and jumped into action.

Kamek: Nyeheheheh! Finish him off, your Horribleness!

As soon as Kamek managed to finish that sentence, he was kicked in the face so hard and so fast he couldn't even see who did it. The force from the blow sent him flying into the sky, until everyone present couldn't even see him anymore.

Bowser: Huh? Kamek? Where'd you for?

With the princess out of danger, Mario wasted no time giving Bowser his much-deserved trouncing. With one furl of his cape, he spun Bowser around like a top and delivered a two-footed flying kick to the back of the head. As Bowser fell to the ground, Mario grabbed him by the tail and started spinning around and around, faster and faster, until both he and Bowser was just a blur. Until finally, Mario let go, sending Bowser away back to the Koopa Kingdom.

Mario: So long!

Luigi: Hahaha! Bye-bye!

Bowser screamed as he was hurtling to the wall of his castle. He crashed into it face first, holding on for a little while before slipping off and crashing into the ground below.

Lakilarry: He's done it, Kart fans! Mario has overcome all odds and emerged victorious against the evil tyrant!

Taodsworth: Oh my goodness…That was a little too close for comfort… I need to take a nap…

Mario and Luigi both did a small celebratory victory dance as the fight was over and Bowser was defeated, which made Luigi drop his hat. As he bent over to pick it up, Luigi looked up and saw something that spooked him and made him hide behind his brother. Mario turned to see what scared his brother, expecting another fight.

What he saw were two figures unlike anything he had seen before. One was blue while the other was black and red. The latter was scowling while the blue one had a cocky grin on his face. And they both appeared to look like hedgehogs but were standing on two legs and wearing gloves and sneakers. The blue one talked first.

?: Hey, pal! You wouldn't happen to be Mario, right?

Mario was on his guard, but while his brother was still scared, they didn't appear to be a threat. Mario nodded, confirming that he is who they're looking for.

?: Sweet! Looks like we're in the right place then.

* * *

 ** _After a long and epic struggle, Mario was once again able to triumph over his arch nemesis, the evil Bowser Koopa._**

 ** _But, Mario's victory was part in thanks to the timely arrival of these strange visitors._**

 ** _Who could these strangers be? Where did they come from? Are they friends or are they foes?_**

 ** _And what could they possibly want with Mario?_**

 ** _Find out in the next episode of Super Mario Bros. Z!_**

* * *

 _Whoo, that was longer than I thought it'd be. I didn't expect to write this much from an episode of a web series that lasted only half an hour. Still, I am committed to do this thing and to do it right. I'll be asking for your help and support as I try to give AlvinEarthworm's thrilling series the conclusion it deserves. While I might not have much to worry about for now, sooner or later I'm going to have to start making my own episodes, and while I do have some ideas on how this series will go, I'll have to ask that we all work together to meet the standards set by the series' creator. And I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it down. See ya, tommorrow!_


	5. The New Threat

Our episode begins at Peach's Castle, where Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toadsworth and the two strange visitors were all standing in Princess Peach's throne room.

?:Thanks for letting us stay in your castle, your Highness. It's roomy and comfy too. Yeah, I could get used to this.

Peach: You're welcome. It's the least I could do after you saved me.

Toadsworth: Quite right. We would have been in a rather sticky wicket if you fine fellows hadn't shown up at that moment, eh wot.

?: Eh, no problem. You could say we were just dropping by.

Toadsworth: Jolly good show. Now, what did you say your names were?

?: The name's Sonic the Hedgehog! And the serious guy next to me is Shadow.

Shadow: Hmph, the pleasure's all yours.

Toadsworth: I see. And what brings you to the Mushroom Kingdom, wot?

Sonic: Actually, we need a small favor.

Shadow: This matter doesn't concern them Sonic. This is our problem and only the two of us should deal with it.

Sonic: No Shadow. You know very well we can't do this alone. And besides, these guys know this world better than we do. We're gonna need their help if we ever want to recover the Chaos Emeralds.

Peach: Chaos Emeralds? Do you know what a Chaos Emerald is, Toadsworth?

Toadsworth: I haven't the foggiest idea, your Majesty. Have you ever heard of a Chaos Emerald, Master Mario?

Mario and Luigi pondered for a moment but the phrase "Chaos Emerald" didn't ring any bells.

Sonic: That's because they're from an alternate dimension, the same dimension that me and Shadow came from. We made a mistake and accidentally transported them here. And now we need your help to get them back.

Toadsworth: Fascinating!

Peach: Indeed. Tell us more about these Emeralds.

Sonic: Care to do the honors, Shadow old buddy?

Shadow: Hmph. Very well. If I must. The Chaos Emeralds are mystical gemstones of unknown origin and unlimited power. They have existed for generations and are linked to many ancient races. Alone, they can be used to power machinery and unlock special abilities for those who are able to harness their power. But if someone manages to collect all seven Emeralds, the user will gain ultimate power, and will be unstoppable!

Peach and Toadsworth were both scared as the implications of the Emeralds in their world sank in.

Peach: Oh my goodness!

Toadsworth: Good gravy! Do you have any idea what could happen if that overgrown brute, Bowser were to get his filthy claws on them? Why, the results would be catastrophic!

Sonic: The mushroom dude is right Mario. The longer the Emeralds remain in this world, the greater the risk of them falling into the wrong hands. And I know that defending this world is your responsibility. So, would you help us out?

Sonic didn't even need to ask. Mario and Luigi were on board as soon as they realized the kingdom needed their help.

Sonic: Thanks, guys. I knew I could count on ya.

Peach: Take Yoshi along with you too, Mario. I'm sure his sensitive nose will be able to sniff them out.

Sonic: Then what are we standing around here for? Let's get moving!

Mario took off ahead of everyone, going so fast that Mario and Luigi were spinning on their heels. They managed to stop themselves and followed Sonic. Shadow went after them, but not before airing out some grievances.

Shadow: *sigh* I'm getting sick of doing things his way.

With our heroes out of the throne room, no one else would notice the Wario Bros. hiding behind a column listening in on their entire conversation.

Wario: Hahaha! Excellent!

Wario relayed a scheme to his brother, about how they're going to follow Mario and his friends, take the Emeralds from them and use the Emeralds to get rich. Waluigi was immediately on board with this plan and was practically drooling from all the money they'd make.

Wario ran off to follow the heroes, but stopped when he noticed that Waluigi was still daydreaming.

Wario: Hurry up, will ya!

This woke up Waluigi and he followed his brother.

After leaving the castle, the four heroes set out into the Mushroom Kingdom in search of the missing Chaos Emeralds. Along the way, they took Yoshi with them and decided to split up to cover more ground. Mario went with Sonic, Luigi went with Yoshi and Shadow searched for them by himself.

Everyone searched high and low for the Chaos Emeralds, checking under every rock and nearly getting eaten by Piranha Plants from checking inside every pipe, yielding no success until Yoshi smelled something peculiar. With Luigi on his back, Yoshi ran towards a lone bush at the edge of a huge cliff. Yoshi dived into the bush, causing Luigi to fell off and land on his face.

Luigi was originally mad that Yoshi just dumped him like that, but all that went away as soon as Yoshi came out with the red Chaos Emerald. Luigi let out a cheer as they finally managed to find the first Emerald.

Luigi: Let's go.

But before they could go back and tell the others, something passed by them so fast, that Luigi and Yoshi could barely see it.

Luigi: Eh?

Luigi was starting to think it was probably nothing, a trick of the light, nothing more. But then the part of the cliff Yoshi was standing on started to fall off. It wasn't like it started to break from too much weight or anything; it was more like it was cut somehow. Yoshi panicked as he realized that the edge was sliding off and going down the cliff. Luigi, shocked by what had just happened, ran off to get Mario and the Hedgehogs for help.

Yoshi fell a long way down. He tried to flutter jump his way to safety but it wasn't enough. On the way down, Yoshi crashed into several slanted platforms, breaking his fall, but in no way a pleasant experience.

When he finally landed, Yoshi was beaten up but no less worse for wear. He searched around and was happy to see the Chaos Emerald landed next to him. He tried to guess where to go to regroup with the others, but he heard mechanical footsteps right behind him. He turned around and saw some kind of robot that looked like Sonic only a lot less friendly.

Robot: Give me the Chaos Emerald!

Yoshi looked around, as if there was someone else the robot was talking to.

Robot: Obviously, you didn't hear me the first time. Give me the Chaos Emerald. NOW!

The robot flew towards Yoshi and before he could react, it kicked him in the face. Whatever this thing was, it cannot get its hands on the Chaos Emerald. When Yoshi fell to the ground, he realized this and promptly put it in his mouth.

Robot: You had better spit out that Emerald if you value your pitiful life!

Yoshi did the exact opposite of the robot's orders; he swallowed it.

Robot: Very well, have it your way. But I am not leaving without the Emerald, so I'll just have to take it from your charred remains!

The robot transformed his arm into a Gatling gun and Yoshi barely had enough time to hide itself in an egg, before it started firing 100 rounds a second. Yoshi rolled away in his new egg shell and the robot flew off after him, firing at Yoshi with more gun shot rounds to no avail.

So the robot took to the skies and curled up into a spiny round object to smash down on the shell. It then uncurled and started bashing it around trying to crack it open before kicking it into the sky and sending Yoshi back down with a blow powerful enough to not only destroy the protective egg barrier but also leave a crater where Yoshi landed.

The robot landed to see if Yoshi died, but the green dinosaur wasn't down yet. The robot charged at him but Yoshi jumped and tried to stomp him with a Ground Pound. He missed but made up for it by throwing an egg at the robot and delivered a flying kick. He continued to deliver blow after blow, throwing the robot to the ground and Ground Pounding it as it left a large trench in its path.

Yoshi Flutter Jumped for a stronger attack, but the robot got up and delivered a flurry of punches that sent Yoshi crashing into a wall. When the dinosaur started to fall off, the robot kicked him back into a hill and fired a chest laser that blasted him right through it.

As Yoshi was sent flying, the robot appeared behind it and fired it back into the ground with a missile. When Yoshi hit the Earth, he was sliding in the dirt and the robot took the opportunity to stomp on his face as he slid.

When it stopped, the robot got up to keep fighting Yoshi, but Yoshi grabbed it with his tongue and ate it. The robot tried to fight his way out as Yoshi tried to swallow it. But Yoshi pulled through and trapped the robot in a giant egg.

Yoshi cheered as he thought the fight was finally over. But the robot wasn't even close to finished. A crack started to appear on the egg, startling Yoshi. Then more cracks formed, terrifying him. And finally, the robot escaped, surging with power and seething with anger. Yoshi tried to swallow him again but the robot was ready. He grabbed Yoshi's tongue and pulled him in to punch him in the face, over and over again like the world's most painful game of paddleball.

The robot slammed Yoshi into the ground then lifted him up and slammed him back down again. He curled back up into his spiny ball form and flew up, dragging poor Yoshi with him by his tongue. There he resumed pulling Yoshi in and smacking him in the face. Then the robot started spinning Yoshi. Faster and faster. Until, finally, it let go and sent Yoshi smashing through several hills and crashing into the ground.

The robot finished the fight by stomping on Yoshi as hard as it could, forcing him to cough up the Chaos Emerald.

The robot stepped off the beaten Yoshi and claimed his prize.

Robot: That makes two Emeralds. I only need five more and then I'll finally be complete. You could have made things easier on yourself if you had just cooperated. But then again, I still would have killed you anyway.

The robot pointed an energy cannon at Yoshi and began charging.

Robot: Farewell, fool.

But then it heard noises coming from the other direction and getting closer by the second.

Robot: What?

He turned and saw Sonic and Shadow running towards him followed by a flying cape Mario dragging his brother along with a rope.

Robot: Dammit! It's those meddling hedgehogs again! How did they follow me to this world? Bah! No matter, I got what I came here for.

The robot flew off into the sky before the others could arrive. Mario saw the poor state Yoshi was in and let go to try and help, sending Yoshi crashing into the side of the hill. Sonic and Shadow arrived soon after.

Sonic: SHOOT! We're too late!

Shadow: I think we noticed, moron! Mecha Sonic has already got a head start over us. And at this rate, it won't be long before he has all seven Chaos Emeralds in his grasp.

Sonic: Hey, don't call me a moron! I wasn't the one who used Chaos Control and transported them here in the first place.

Shadow: Would you rather I let Mecha Sonic have them? I had no other choice. And besides, I was getting sick of watching you having your blue posterior kicked all over the place.

Mario, having enough of the two talking like he wasn't there, got up and asked them the million dollar question.

Mario: Who the heck is Mecha Sonic?!

Sonic: *sigh* I was hoping we'd avoid this situation.

Shadow: You don't have to tell him anything, Sonic.

Sonic: Yes I do. We still need their help and his friend almost got killed! He deserves to know the full story. Okay, I'll tell you everything you need to know. But we'd better get Yoshi back to the castle first. He needs urgent medical attention.

After Mario accepted Sonic's offer, the two hedgehogs race towards Peach's castle with Mario carrying Yoshi on his back flying right behind them.

Luigi had just regained consciousness after slamming into a hill and noticed the others leaving without him and tried to keep up.

Luigi: Mamma Mia! Eh? Wah! Wait for me!

* * *

 _ **Just as our heroes find their first Chaos Emerald, it is shortly taken away by a robot that bares close resemblance to Sonic.**_

 _ **What is the full story behind Sonic and Yoshi's attacker?**_

 _ **And who will collect the Chaos Emeralds first?**_

 _ **All will be revealed in the next exciting episode of SUPER MARIO BROS. Z!**_

* * *

 _I decided to do this whole episode in one go because I wanted something exciting to happen in each chapter and I couldn't split up the Yoshi and Mecha Sonic fight. Tune in next time for the exciting origin story of Mecha Sonic!_


	6. Enter the Koopa Bros - Part 1

Yoshi was resting on Luigi's bed in Mario's house. Peach was watching over him while the rest of the heroes were waiting taking a rest downstairs after all the excitement they had.

Sonic: Okay, I knew you were a plumber and a hero, but I had no idea you were a doctor as well. So… how is Yoshi anyway? Will he be okay?

Mario nods his head.

Sonic: *phew* That's good to know. It's a good thing we got to him in time. I guess all we need to worry about now is finding the rest of the Chaos Emeralds.

Just then, Yoshi's eye began to open, startling Peach.

Peach: Mario! Come quick! Yoshi is finally waking up.

Sonic, Mario and Luigi ran upstairs while Shadow stayed behind, not really caring about Yoshi's condition. They formed a circle around Luigi's bed, glad to see that Yoshi was alright.

Peach: I'm happy to see you awake, Yoshi. How do you feel?

Yoshi tried to get out of bed but was brought back down by a wave of pain.

Peach: No, Yoshi! Save your strength. You haven't fully recovered yet.

Sonic walked away from the bed and admitted his mistake.

Sonic: *sigh* What was I thinking? I should've told you about Mecha Sonic. I was confident that we would find the Chaos Emeralds before he did then use their power to defeat him. But instead, I put another innocent life in jeopardy.

Mario and Luigi walked up to Sonic.

Sonic: I'm sorry I deceived you Mario. I think now is a good time to tell you the whole story. Like I said back at the castle, me and Shadow are from another dimension.

* * *

My home world was called Mobius. It was a lush, green and peaceful place. Most of the time, I would hang out or just chill with my friends. It was a pretty carefree lifestyle.

Carefree, that is... until the power hungry Dr. Eggman came along. His base of operations was within a huge floating fortress that orbited the planet. It was called the "Death Egg" where he "hatched" many schemes to enslave Mobius by turning the inhabitants into robotic servants.

I took it upon myself to thwart his evil plans. Time and time again.

Frustrated by the amount of defeats at my hands, Eggman then took a different approach. He started sending robotic versions of myself, hoping that they could outsmart me. Naturally, they were no match for me. But the Doc was persistent. He continued to build upgraded versions of the Sonic robots, hoping that one of them would succeed.

However, there was one Sonic robot that stood out from the others. He was named "Metal Sonic".

Even though I was able to defeat him, Metal Sonic had something the other Sonic robots lacked. A strong will. He continued to rechallenge me, returning faster and more powerful than before. But I still won every time. Which only fueled his desire of finally beating me.

But one night back at the Death Egg, everything took a turn for the worse. He somehow managed to sneak into Eggman's top secret facility. That's when he made his move. Metal Sonic merged with all the other Sonic robots, and transformed into one super robot.

Turbo Mecha Sonic!

But it didn't take long for Eggman to find out what was going on, and he threatened to deactivate Mecha Sonic for his disobedience. But Mecha Sonic had become so powerful, he felt like he shouldn't be taking orders from an inferior being. So he broke free from Eggman's control and became his own master.

Nothing could prepare us for the day the Death Egg crashed into Mobius. The collision shook the entire planet, shrouding it in thick clouds that blocked out the sun.

Mecha Sonic had somehow survived the explosion. Looking upon the carnage that his actions had inflicted triggered something within him, a thirst for power and a lust for destruction. But although his transformation made him stronger, he wasn't invincible. He needed the seven Chaos Emeralds in order to be complete. So he used the opportunity to search for them as well as attack the helpless animals during the turmoil.

Starting with my friends.

My best friend, Tails, was his first victim.

Followed by Amy.

Not even Knuckles the Echidna was a match for him!

And Cream and Cheese... they never stood a chance.

Within a few short hours, more than half of Mobius was reduced to a burning wasteland. The inhabitants wiped out, and six of the seven Chaos Emeralds were now in Mecha Sonic's possession. The last of which, was in mine.

With nowhere to run or hide, I finally confronted him in what was to be my toughest battle yet. But despite my best efforts, I was flattened, rolled up and tossed aside by his overwhelming power.

From this point, I could only watch as he started his transformation. That is, until Shadow intervened. Shadow used his natural ability of Chaos Control to warp the Emeralds to your world out of Mecha Sonic's reach. Thus preventing him from transforming into his complete stage. With the Emeralds gone, plus me and Shadow working together, we had pretty good odds of winning.

But Mecha Sonic had other plans. He used the energy that he absorbed from the Chaos Emeralds to activate Chaos Control himself, warpig to your world after the Emeralds and leaving us behind with no way of pursuing him.

We later returned to the wreckage of the Death Egg, and were fortunate to find the main control room completely intact. Along with Eggman's secret database. After hacking into the system, we found top secret plans for a capsule that was powered by artificial Chaos Energy that could help us warp into your dimension. We then built our own capsule using parts of the wrecked Death Egg that was scattered around.

After making our final preparations, Shadow hooked himself up to the capsule and used Chaos Control to send us to the Mushroom Kingdom.

And of course, you all know what happened after that.

* * *

Everyone had been saddened listening to Sonic's tragic tale. Peach couldn't stop herself from crying after hearing it.

Peach: *sob* That's so sad...

Sonic: Indeed it is. And the same thing could happen to the Mushroom Kingdom if we don't act fast. If Mecha Sonic gets all seven Emeralds, all is lost. So, do you guys think you're up to the challenge?

Mario and Luigi were up to the challenge when they were worried that Bowser would abuse that power of the Emeralds, but now that they know Mecha Sonic is after them, the Mario Bros. had never been more ready. The two of them looked each other in the eye and saw the steely determination that pushed them to rescue Peach and save the Mushroom Kingdom time and time again. Mario pulled out a cape feather and became Cape Mario.

Mario: Mario!

Luigi did the same thing, turning into Cape Luigi.

Luigi: Luigi!

Mario: Here we go!

Mario and Luigi: Super Mario Bros.!

Sonic: Heh heh... You guys are awesome.

Meanwhile, Shadow was downstairs when he heard a honking noise coming from outside. The door flew open and Shadow just dodged out of the way of what appeared to be an old man riding a rocket powered vacuum cleaner. The crash from when the old man hit the wall shook the whole house.

Sonic: What the heck was that?!

Sonic, Peach and the Mario Bros. went down to investigate. There they met their old friend, Professor Elvin Gadd.

E. Gadd: Greetings Mario and Luigi. Sorry about the mess, my new poultergust still has a few bugs in it.

Peach: Oh, Professor E. Gadd. What brings you here?

E. Gadd: Well, news has been going around Toad Town that a metallic creature has been causing havoc around the Donut Plains looking for strange gems, or Chaos Emeralds if I recall correctly

Sonic: Mecha Sonic!

Shadow: *growl* We have wasted enough time standing around, Sonic! We have to go, now!

E. Gadd: Now now, no need to get your fur in a knot. For I have invented something to help you boys on your quest. Behold!

Professor E. Gadd pulled out a gray rectangular device with buttons and a screen.

Peach: Wow!...It's a Game Boy...

E. Gadd: Ah ha, but it isn't just any Game Boy. It's my latest invention. The GBC ChaosEgaddularRadulator!

Sonic: The GBC ChaosOojimaflipWhatarator? That's a weird name.

E. Gadd: Mock it if you will, but it takes a true genius to appreciate such creative naming. But I digress, gather around and I'll show you boys how it works.

Everyone but Shadow walked closer so that they could see the screen on the Game Boy. There everyone heard it beeping and saw a little green circle with lines going vertically and horizontally across it. And in the middle of the circle was an outline in the shape of a Chaos Emerald.

E. Gadd: After hearing that all of you were searching for the Emeralds, I went tot my lab and made a radar that could lock onto their unique energy signature. I'm sure it will help you find them quicker.

Sonic: Wow! That's awesome! Finding the Emeralds will be a cinch with this baby! Wait a minute, the radar says that there's an Emerald right here in this room.

Professor E. Gadd let out a laugh.

E. Gadd: Of course. How else do you think I built the radar without an Emerald to study?

The professor reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a large perfectly cut yellow gem.

Sonic: A Chaos Emerald!

E. Gadd: Yes, it came crashing through the window of my laboratory just the other day. But I must admit, I am very intrigued by it. So I hope you don't mind if I keep hold of it for now?

Sonic; Well... I dunno.

All of a sudden the lights went off. Everybody screamed at this sudden darkness.

Luigi: Mario!

E. Gadd: It's so dark. Who turned out the lights?

The lights came back on and everyone could see that Professor E. Gadd was no longer holding the Emerald in his hand.

E. Gadd: THE CHAOS EMERALD IS GONE!

* * *

 _Uh-oh. Who could've stolen the Chaos Emerald? Was it the guys who were blatantly advertised in the title of this episode? Tune in tomorrow to find out!_

 _Some of you might've noticed that I changed the name of this episode from the original series. That's because I preferred this one over "Here Comes the Koopa Bros." It reminds me of that All That skit. You know the one. The one with the idiot fireman who shouts "HERE COMES ME!" It's probably just a me thing, but I still feel like "Enter the Koopa Bros." worked better with the DBZ thing Mark was going for._

 _Also, I know I promised a fight in each chapter, but this one went on for too long already and I did promise to give you the origin of Mecha Sonic, which I delivered. I promise that there'll be a fight tomorrow and it'll be a doozy. Until then, please keep reading and sending me feedback. Sayonara!_


	7. Enter the Koopa Bros - Part 2

E. Gadd: The Chaos Emerald is gone!

Upon hearing this, Shadow finally decided to participate in the conversation.

Shadow: What happened? Don't tell me you idiots lost another Chaos Emerald!

Sonic: Hey! It's not our fault. Mecha Sonic must've followed us here.

Shadow: I don't believe this! You numbskulls would lose your heads if they weren't attached to your freakin' shoulders!

Shadow left Mario's house to search for the missing Chaos Emerald by himself.

Sonic: Shadow! Get back here! I hate it when he gets like this.

While the Chaos Emerald was missing, the Emerald Radar was still in Mario's hands and was still tracking it.

E. Gadd: What's that? The Emerald is moving east?

Sonic: Hey, you're right! If we hurry, we can still catch him. Let's get moving!

Sonic, Mario and Luigi took off to follow the Emerald.

Peach: Good Luck Mario! Teach that Emerald thief who's boss!

* * *

Sonic and the Mario Bros. followed the Emerald Radar to the Koopa Fields. They hid behind a bush so that the thief wouldn't know that they were being followed.

Sonic: The signal is pointing in that direction. Looks like we caught up with him.

They turned around and saw four masked koopas wearing the same outfit but in different colors for each of them, red, black, green and yellow. The red one appeared to be the leader as he was talking to the other three and holding the Chaos Emerald in his hand.

Red Koopa: Radical jobs, dudes. Those losers totally didn't see that one coming.

Black Koopa: 'Twas nothing dude. You shoulda seen the looks on their faces. Priceless!

Yellow Koopa: I agree. It's a total bummer I forgot to bring my camera.

Red Koopa: Okay, dudes. All we need to do now is take this gem to the boss. He might even give us a raise for a job well done.

Green Koopa: Dude, you mean we're actually getting paid for this?

Sonic and the Mario Bros. were still hidden while the masked koopas were talking.

Sonic: Huh? Who are these guys?

Mario explained to Sonic that these four are the Koopa Bros. and that he has faced them before.

Sonic: Old adversaries, huh? Well, it doesn't look like they know we've followed. Let's try sneaking up behind them and take them by surprise.

Shadow: So you're the ones behind this, huh?

Shocked to hear Shadow's voice, our heroes turned back to the Koopa Bros. and saw Shadow standing in front of them.

Red Koopa: Duuuuude, who are you?

Shadow: My identity is none of your concern, Shellbrain. Now hand over that Chaos Emerald!

Red Koopa: Oh, really? Well, I don't see your name on it, chump!

Sonic appeared to chastise Shadow for putting the Koopa Bros. on their guard.

Sonic: Great going, Shadow! We had them right where we wanted them!

Shadow: Hmph, don't blame me. I was only trying to correct another one of your mistakes.

Sonic: *sigh* Gee, thanks. You're a great help, Shadow old pal.

Mario and Luigi then appeared to help the hedgehogs fight the Koopa Bros.

Sonic: But Shadow is right about one thing. Give back the Emerald and no one gets hurt.

Red Koopa: Woah dude, you bozos obviously don't know who ya dealing with. We're the coolest of cool, King B's ninja Heroes in a Half-Shell. Play the theme tune, Green!

Green pulls out a radio and presses the play button. Upbeat band music starts blaring from the radio's speakers.

Red: Kenny!

Black: Johnny!

Yellow: Nicky!

Green: Mikey!

The Koopa Bros. pose by pointing at the heroes.

Koopa Bros. and radio: And we are...

The Koopa Bros. do a new pose by flashing them a thumbs up.

Koopa Bros. and radio:...the Spirit Squad!

The band music starts blaring louder and the Koopa Bros. hold their pose while our heroes just watch. All of a sudden the music stops and Red stares angrily at Green.

Red: Um, dude, you played the wrong theme tune.

The heroes face-palmed from Yellow's stupidity, aside from Shadow who kept doing what he was doing during the first theme tune, stand there with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face.

Red: Okay dudes, one more time, from the top.

Green pressed the play on the radio again and this time the keyboard could be heard coming from the speaker. The Koopa Bros. redid their poses this time to their actual theme song.

Red: RED!

Black: BLACK!

Yellow: YELLOW!

Green: GREEN!

Red: And together we are...

Koopa Bros.: THE KOOPA BROS.!

Shadow: I've had just about enough of these sideshow freaks!

Shadow immediately dashed towards the Koopa Bros. to beat them up.

Sonic: Shadow! Wait!

Red: Okay dudes, floor that creep!

Black, Green and Yellow jumped towards Shadow. Shadow jumped over black, ducked under Yellow, but got tripped up by Green. Red took this opportunity to use a flying kick to send Shadow crashing into a hillside. Shadow began charging with Chaos Energy and destroyed the entire hill around him. He flew towards the Koopa Bros. angrier than before, but Sonic stopped him.

Sonic: Shadow! Get a grip, will ya?! You really need to keep a lid on that temper of yours. Now, the only way we're going to beat them is if all four of us work together.

Shadow: Grrrr...Very well. Just stay the hell out of my way Sonic!

At was at this moment that the leader of the Koopa Bros. recognized Mario.

Red: Hey you, the dude with the stache! I know you! You're the punk that stormed our fortress and rescued that star spirit a few years back! Mario, isn't it?

Mario: Mm-hmm.

Red: Talk about lucky break, dude. Not only do we nab this gem for the boss, but we also get to pummel our old enemy, Mario. Let's do this!

Mario and Red stared each other down while the rest of their teams took to the skies. The two clashed into each other twice before Red tried to kick Mario, only for Mario to dodge and punch him into the dirt. Red dug himself out and appeared right behind Mario and delivered a devastating punch. Mario managed to correct himself before colliding with a hill. Then Red tried to knock Mario into the hill, only for Mario to duck and give him an uppercut. Mario waited for Red to fall back down so that he could knock him to the hillside over and over again before knocking him _through_ it.

Meanwhile, back in the skies, the rest of our heroes were facing their own color-coordinated opponent. Shadow vs Black, Luigi vs Green and Sonic vs Yellow.

Sonic and Yellow clashed for a while, neither combatant giving the other an inch, until Sonic finished the stalemate by kicking Yellow in the back of the head sending him crashing back to Earth. There Luigi hid in the bushes, waiting for Green to arrive so that he could ambush him with his mallet.

Luigi: Fore!

Green was hit with so much force, it sent him flying through two hills. Luigi celebrated giving his opponent such a devastating blow, before being ambushed himself by Yellow. Sonic followed after his opponent, while Shadow was continuing to pummel Black while still in the air. Black was sent flying into the sky where Mario crashed into him, having been thrown up there by Red. Red tried to attack Mario, but our hero got out of the way and Red ended up colliding with his brother. Both Red and Black were defenseless as Mario pulled out his mallet and started whacking them all over the sky.

Meanwhile, Green and Yellow were whacking Luigi all over the ground. Our helpless plumber was outmatched, until Sonic arrived and stopped Yellow's attack with a flying kick followed by a spinning kick that sent him flying. With enough time to get his bearings, Luigi was able to do the same thing to Green, followed by a spinning attack thanks to his Cape Feather powers. Yellow came back down and Luigi and Sonic began kicking him back and forth like a soccer ball. Then Luigi headbutted Green just as he was falling back down.

Mario and Shadow were chasing down Red and Black, Mario flying while carrying Shadow as the Koopa Bros. leapt from hill to hill. Until Mario threw Shadow at Black and smacked Red back to the ground. Down there it was just a free-for-all as Red attacked Mario, Shadow attacked Red, Black attacked Shadow and Mario attacked Red and so on until Mario and Shadow were both able to give one vicious punch to their respective opponents, causing all four Koopa Bros. to crash into each other.

Red: Awww duuuuude. We're getting our shells handed to us maaaaan.

Our heroes arrived ready to continue the battle.

Sonic: So guys, ready to call it quits?

Red: Don't think we're beat yet dude. We still have a few more tricks left. C'mon bros, let's show these losers our super special technique!

The Kooba Bros. started stacking themselves one on top of the other, Green followed by Yellow followed by Black followed by Red.

Sonic: Now what are those idiots up to?

Mario explained to Sonic what those idiots were up to.

Sonic: Their special attack? Go ahead you punks! Just try your luck!

All four Koopa Bros. began spinning in place, charging up their special attack. Normally, our heroes would've handled it no problem, but normally these four weren't lugging a Chaos Emerald around. The Emerald's energy charged their special attack, making it unstoppable.

Red: WOAH DUDE! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO US!?

The Koopa Bros. special attack charged straight at our heroes. Being just as surprised as the Koopa Bros. were, they were unable to dodge or defend themselves from the sheer speed and power of the Koopa Bros. Chaos-charged special attack.

All four of them were down for the count as soon as the attack landed. The Koopa Bros. move combined with the Chaos Emerald took out the fastest thing alive, the ultimate lifeform and the Heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The Koopa Bros. stopped their attack and turned back to normal.

Black: Woah, gnarly! What just happened?

Red: I dunno bro, but I bet this gem had something to do with it.

Green: Yeah, no wonder those losers were wanting it back. It must have some totally amazing powers.

Yellow: Hey bros, look what I snagged.

Yellow showed his brothers the Emerald Radar that he stole from our heroes unconscious bodies.

Yellow: It's the gadget that nutty professor built.

Red: I bet it's what those dudes used to track us down when we stole this gem. Hey bros, you thinking what I'm thinking?

Black: Totally! These things are way too good for the boss.

Green: Fer sure! And if we collect all of them, we'll be the ones calling the shots!

Red: Yo, Mario! Thanks for the gem and the radar, old buddy! Smell ya later, losers!

The Koopa Bros. took off, while Mario and the rest of our heroes lay unconscious.

* * *

 _ **Matters have gone from bad to worse as another Chaos Emerald is stolen from our heroes. This time by the Koopa Bros. along with the emerald radar.**_

 _ **Can our heroes recover from this brutal beating and make a comeback?**_

 _ **Or has their quest already come to an end?**_

 ** _You don't wanna miss the next exciting episode of SUPER MARIO BROS. Z!_**

* * *

 _Some eagle-eyed fans reading this might've noticed a few changes from the original episode._

 _For starters, I switched up some of Yellow and Green's lines from the episode as well as their positions during the special attack. I was actually looking up the Koopa Bros. because I never played Paper Mario and found out that Green is actually the youngest as well as the bottom on the special move. I guess AlvinEarthworm mixed the two up. It's a very small detail but I like to be as close as possible to the source material of my source material._

 _Second, the free-for-all fight between Mario and Shadow vs Red and Black is rather simple in description. I tried to go into more detail but I got lost writing it down. Heck, I got lost watching the original fight. And I realized that it wouldn't be fun for my readers to try to make sense out of it. So I simplified it for convenience's sake._

 _Obviously, our heroes' quest hasn't already come to an end so tune in tomorrow to see how they're going to steal that Emerald back!_


	8. Trouble on Yoshi's Island-Part 1

The sky was choked with a thick cloud of dust that seemed to wrap around the entire planet and blocked out the sun. Two hedgehogs stared each other down beneath the smog, one flesh and blood, the other metal and wires. One good and one evil.

Sonic: Mecha Sonic, what have you done?

Mecha Sonic: Don't' be so surprised, Sonic. I only carried out what I was originally programmed to do. Except my method was far more efficient.

Sonic: Curse you, Mecha Sonic! I should've destroyed you when I had the chance.

Mecha Sonic: And yet you didn't. You underestimated me, and now you're paying the price. You are the only one left that stands between me and ultimate power. Now give me the last Chaos Emerald. Otherwise, I will destroy you!

Sonic: You want me to give the last Chaos Emerald to YOU? OVER MY DEAD BODY!

Mecha Sonic: That can be arranged.

Faster than the eye could follow, Mecha Sonic disappeared and swatted Sonic away like a fly. As Sonic was sent flying back, Mecha Sonic appeared behind him and kicked him high into the sky; followed by a punch, another kick and one final kick back to Earth, leaving a giant hole where Sonic landed. The force of the impact caused Sonic to let go of the final Chaos Emerald. Sonic got out of the hole to keep fighting but was too hurt to even stand up.

With the last Chaos Emerald, Mecha Sonic had everything he needed to be complete.

Mecha Sonic: Finally, at long last, I have all seven Chaos Emeralds! Now begins the invincible empire of Master Mecha Sonic!

Sonic could only watch as Mecha Sonic transformed into his ultimate form. Mecha Sonic glowed with power. He had become unstoppable.

Mecha Sonic: Hahahahah! Now nothing in this universe can stop me! Farewell, Sonic the Hedgehog!

Mecha Sonic changed his arm into an energy cannon that fired a plasma stream at Sonic. Sonic didn't have the energy to run anymore and all he could do was scream at his inevitable demise.

Sonic: AAAAAHHHH!

* * *

Sonic: NOOOO!

Sonic woke up in Mario's bed. He caught his breath before taking a look around where he was.

Sonic: Huh? Oh, it was just a dream. But how did I end up back at Mario's house?

Sonic then heard a loud noise followed by Shadow yelling.

Shadow: GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!

Peach: Now Shadow, please be reasonable. I'm only trying to help bandage those wounds.

Shadow: I already told you, I don't need your help. So back off!

Sonic: Hey Shadow, what are you whining about this time?

Sonic raced downstairs to see for himself what was going on.

Sonic: Geez. No wonder you don't have any friends if you keep turning on them like that.

Peach: Oh, Sonic. You're finally awake. How are you feeling?

Sonic was feeling just fine until Shadow kicked him with enough force to knock him into the wall.

Shadow: Don't you DARE lecture me Sonic! My reputation of being the Ultimate Life Form is ruined after I was knocked unconscious by those stupid Koopas!

Sonic: Hey! Who cares about your rep-Wait a second. You mean we lost against the Koopa Bros.?

Peach: Sadly, yes. All of you were knocked out by their special attack and they got away with the Chaos Emerald. Mario woke up first and had to carry all of you back here from the Koopa Fields.

Sonic: Man, I guess their special attack was a lot more powerful than we thought.

Shadow: Idiot! It wasn't their power that defeated us, it was the Chaos Emerald! Those creeps cheated us out of our victory. And for that, they will pay! The next time I see those pathetic turtles, I'm going to kick their-

E. Gadd: My my, such fighting words.

Professor E. Gadd walked into Mario's house and greeted everyone.

Peach: Oh, hello again Professor Gadd.

E. Gadd: Hello again everybody. I trust that you were successful in catching those Emerald thieves?

Sonic: Sadly, we didn't. The Koopa Bros. got away with it.

E. Gadd: Oh, so it was the Koopa Bros. that stole the Emerald? Those sneaky devils. But no worries all you need to do is use my handy Emerald Radar to track them down.

Mario had started panicking.. Everyone looked at him as he tried to act like nothing was wrong.

E. Gadd: Oh... They stole the radar as well?

Mario: Mm-hmm.

Sonic: What!? You lost the radar?

E. Gadd: Hee hee. No need to panic. I lose my inventions all the time. So I built this just in case.

The professor reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out another Game Boy.

Sonic: Nice one Prof. You made a spare radar for us.

E. Gadd: Ummm...Actually... No. This is my other invention I invented after I built the radar. I call it the "GBC ChaosEgaddularRadulator FinderLocattorator."

Sonic: The GBC Chaos Ejuggular...Ejaggerator...Eewhatsitcalledthingamabobulator? Could we get that last part in English?

Shadow: He's saying it's a radar for the radar.

Sonic: A Radar Radar? With all due respect professor, but wouldn't it have been easier for you to just build another Emerald Radar.

E. Gadd: Now that you say it... Yes, it probably would have

At this, everyone but Shadow face faulted.

E. Gadd: But regardless, it will still help you all to track down those fiendish Koopa Bros.

Shadow: Well hurry up and find them then! We're just spinning our wheels here!

E. Gadd: Ahem. Yes, quite right. Mario, do you want to do the honors?

Mario: Okey-Dokey.

The professor gave the Radar Radar to Mario. On the screen was the same image shown on the Emerald Radar but instead of a Chaos Emerald in the middle, it showed the shape of a Game Boy at the bottom left corner.

E. Gadd: Now, lemme see...from this location, the radar is located 240 miles south of here. And if I enter the results into my personal DS pocket computer, it shows that the Koopa Bros. are on Yoshi's Island.

Upstairs, Yoshi woke up upon hearing the name of his home.

Sonic: Yoshi's Island? I'm willing to bet that they found another Chaos Emerald there.

E. Gadd: Yes, I'd say that's a plausible theory.

Sonic: Then what are we standing around for? Let's get moving!

Sonic tried to run towards Yoshi's Island but was stopped by the professor.

E. Gadd: WAIT! How do you plan on getting to Yoshi's Island on foot? It's located right in the middle of the cheep cheep ocean.

Sonic: Ummm... Yeah. Good question. Especially considering I can't swim.

E. Gadd: Not to worry. We can get there easily if we ride on my new Poltergust.

Luigi: Are you sure it's safe?

E. Gadd: Yes Luigi. It's perfectly safe. After all, I'm the one who'll be driving.

Sonic: You're coming with us Professor?

E. Gadd: Of course. It's been a while since I last visited the island. It will also be a good opportunity to catch up on my research.

Shadow: Yeah yeah, very nice. Now can we get going?

E. Gadd: Ahem. Yes, of course. This way please gentlemen.

Everyone followed the professor out the door, but the princess stopped Luigi to discuss something.

Peach: Luigi, before you go, I have something for you. It will help you in a pinch.

Luigi got a Life Mushroom.

Peach: I just wish there was more I could do. Please take care of yourselves.

Luigi: Thank you.

Mario: Luigi! Hurry up already!

Luigi got out of the house and hopped aboard the Poltergust with everyone else.

E. Gadd: Is everybody ready? Then let's get going!

E. Gadd turned on the Poltergust and it took off. Backwards crashing them through Mario's house.

E. Gadd: Oops! Hee hee... had the silly thing in reverse.

The professor set it back into drive and it started to fly to Yoshi's Island with Luigi hanging on for dear life.

* * *

Peach: Okay Yoshi, are you feeling any better?

The princess went upstairs to Yoshi's room and found that nobody was in there.

Peach: Yoshi? Where did he go?

* * *

Our heroes arrived at Yoshi's Island without incident, minus Luigi falling off the Poltergust in the middle of the ocean and Mario having to go back to rescue him. It was a lush, green place with three mountains standing high in the middle of it.

E. Gadd: We're here boys. Welcome to Yoshi's Island. And we got here perfectly unharmed.

Sonic: We sure did. I don't know if you can say the same about Luigi though.

Mario jumped on Luigi, forcing all the excess water from the Cheep Cheep Ocean out through his mouth.

Luigi: Mamma Mia.

E. Gadd: Nonsense. Luigi's just fine.

Sonic: I guess I'll take your word for it.

E. Gadd: Now then, let's not dawdle. Let's go and find those uncouth Koopa Bros., yes? Mario, the Radar Radar, if you please?

Luigi sat up after catching his breath. When he did, he noticed something in the distance.

Luigi: Mario!

Mario saw Luigi pointing at something and followed the direction of his finger. There was the purple Chaos Emerald sitting out in the open!

E. Gadd: Well I'll be, a Chaos Emerald! What amazing luck!

Sonic: That's for sure. With the radar, I'm surprised the Koopa Bros. didn't get it first.

E. Gadd: Perhaps those miscreants couldn't figure out how to use it. Hee hee. Anyways, finders keepers.

Professor Gadd went ahead to grab the Emerald while everybody else stayed behind.

Shadow: Sonic, something's not right here.

Sonic: Huh? What's wrong Shadow?

Shadow: Can you feel that?

Sonic: Feel what? I don't know what you're talking about. I don't feel a thing.

Shadow: Exactly. I possess the innate ability to sense a Chaos Emerald's power from long distances. Yet that Chaos Emerald is barely 100 yards away and I can't sense anything.

Sonic: Seriously? Then that could only mean...

E. Gadd: GADZOOKS!

Our heroes turned around and saw Professor E. Gadd suspended in a large net over the Emerald.

E. Gadd: Uhm... A little help here would suffice.

Sonic: Don't worry Professor, we'll get you down.

Shadow picked up the Chaos Emerald to confirm his suspicions.

Shadow: Bah! I knew it! This Chaos Emerald is a fake!

Sonic: A fake? But who would go around leaving fake Emeralds in the middle of nowhere?

Our heroes heard a noise coming behind them and saw Yoshi with a feather in his head, staring angrily.

Sonic: Hey look, it's Yoshi! But I thought he was still at Mario's house recovering. Hey Yoshi! What are you doing all the way out here?

Yoshi responded by pointing a spear at our heroes.

Shadow: Something tells me that isn't the Yoshi we know.

More Yoshi noises (I don't know what you'd call that, sorry) were heard behind them and our heroes saw three more Yoshi's of various colors wielding spears. Our heroes turned back around and saw that Yoshi's were surrounding them from all sides, followed by one very big blue Yoshi with two feathers that appeared to be their leader.

Sonic: Wow! That Yoshi is gigantic. I think it's safe to say that the natives aren't happy about us being here.

Shadow: So, does anyone have any bright ideas?

Sonic: Maybe one of us should try to communicate with them?

Mario got up to one of the Yoshi's and try to strike a conversation. He was awarded with a spear poke to the but that made him leap to the air.

Sonic: Well, that could've gone better.

Shadow: Hmmph. I guess if you want something done, you got to do it yourself.

Shadow threw the fake Emerald into the air. When it fell back down in front of him, Shadow kicked it mid-drop with so much force, it collided with one of the Yoshi's catching him off guard. Shadow used this opportunity to attack the Yoshi, kicking him off the ground before running past him with enough speed to make him spin mid-air just before he landed. Shadow then hit him with another kick followed by three punches to the stomach and one more kick behind him that sent him hurtling towards the mountainside.

Sonic: SHADOW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

The big Yoshi took this as a sign that they were the enemy.

Sonic: Uh-oh... Not good.

* * *

 _Get ready to see the whole fight tomorrow! Right now, I need a break. Seeya!_


	9. Trouble on Yoshi's Island-Part 2

Sonic: Uh oh… Not good.

Sonic and Luigi started running right before the spears landed on them. Two yoshi's, one red and one green, surrounded Mario and the green one tried to stab him, but Mario jumped out of the way and away from them. The red one came charging at Mario with his spear but Mario leaned back away from it and then kicked it out of the Yoshi's hands. While it was in mid-air, Mario leapt up and kicked it, hitting the red Yoshi with the blunt end. Mario grabbed it and used it as a bat on the other yoshi, smacking him in the head with it then hitting him like a baseball.

The large yoshi commanded the smaller ones to charge at these intruders.

Sonic and Luigi had stopped running and were now taking action. Sonic curled up to use his trademark Spin Dash technique then Luigi hit him with a mallet sending him crashing into the advancing yoshi's one by one before performing a Spin Attack, sending a bunch of yoshi's down like bowling pins.

Mario, meanwhile, was still battling the two yoshi's that were attacking him. Mario stuck his spear to the ground and pulled back the blunt end, letting it go so that it would smack the red yoshi in the face. The green yoshi tried to grab Mario with his tongue but Mario jumped and landed on his head, forcing him to bite down on it. As the green yoshi yelled out in pain, Mario wrapped his legs around the back of his neck and pulled him headfirst into the ground. The yoshi's were stubborn however, as they continued to charge at Mario. Mario pulled his spear out and beat the two of them on the heads with it as soon as they got within striking distance, followed by a powerful kick to both of them at the same time. Mario delivered the final blow by sticking the spear into the ground and used it to spin himself around, kicking both yoshi's in their faces over and over again until they stayed down.

The big yoshi had enough of watching his men being trounced by these intruders. He leapt up and landed right behind Mario, lifting him out of the ground. The big yoshi hit Mario with enough force to send him flying. When he landed, Mario saw the giant Yoshi about to stab him with his spear.

Sonic: No! Mario's in trouble!

But before Sonic could help, he was kicked in the face by a yoshi, while Luigi was begging his brother to help him as another yoshi pulled him into his mouth. Shadow just looked at the fight and laughed to himself.

Shadow: Heh heh heh…Amateurs.

Before the giant yoshi could deliver the final blow to our favorite plumber, a featherless yoshi arrived and saved Mario's life. The large yoshi told him to get out of the way, but Yoshi refused. So the giant yoshi decided that he would kill them both. However, before the spear made contact, the fight was put to a halt by the command of another Yoshi.

Leader: Thunderfoot, stop!

The giant yoshi evidently named Thunderfoot, turned and saw a fat yoshi being carried by two other yoshi's. This fat yoshi seemed to be the real leader. The yoshi leader was carried to Yoshi, before stepping off the stretcher and addressing him personally.

Yoshi Leader: Young yoshi, why do you side with the invaders and not your fellow brethren? We are fighting to protect our land from our enemies, now step aside.

Yoshi refused to step aside. Fellow brethren or not, he wouldn't let anyone hurt Mario. Yoshi must've said something similar because it appeared to catch the Yoshi leader off guard.

Yoshi Leader: Did you say…Mario?

The Yoshi Leader stared at Mario, as if to see if Yoshi was telling the truth.

Yoshi Leader: I can't believe it. It really IS Mario! I hardly recognized you with that big mustache. My, look how you've grown. It's been such a long time. Do you remember me?

Mario scratched his head, trying to remember if he's seen this Yoshi before.

Yoshi Leader: I had a feeling you wouldn't. You were only a baby when we parted ways. I am the Yoshi that helped you get back home when you landed on this island. My fellow yoshis! These people are not our enemies! Release them!

The yoshis put their spears down and Luigi was spat out.

Yoshi Leader: As you can see, I am now the chief of this tribe. And I've told everyone the story of our adventures together. It's good to see that you've matured over the years. It seems like only yesterday…

The Chief began fondly remembering the time he and Mario spent together, which seemed to mostly consist of Mario crying.

Chief: *sigh* Good times…

Shadow: I hate to break up this touching reunion, but I have a few questions for you. For a start, why did you plant that phony Emerald and have your yoshis attack us?

Sonic: I have to agree with Shadow on this one. I thought you yoshis were a peace loving race?

Chief: We ARE a peace loving race. But sadly, recent events have made a huge impact on our lives. You see it all started about five days ago.

* * *

I was busy taking one of my morning strolls when I came across this strange purple stone.

Shadow: Purple Stone? Sounds to me like a Chaos Emerald.

Chaos Emerald?

Sonic: We'll explain everything later. Please, continue with your story.

Anyway, the stone was unlike anything I had seen before, drawing me towards its light.

But as soon as I picked up the stone, I was then attacked by a mob of Spear Guys. I lacked the physique to deal with them, so I had no choice but to run away. But the Spear Guys were faster, and quickly caught up and backed me into a corner.

When the situation looked its bleakest, the stone started to grow radiantly. Sending the Spear Guys into a panic and Scaring them away, thus saving my life.

I took it back to my village and showed it to the rest of the tribe. Telling them about how the stone saved my life. I came to the conclusion that the great yoshis of old sent it down from the Heavens as a good luck charm. And it was mounted atop the golden yoshi statue. Sadly, good luck was the last thing it brought us.

A few days later, five strange yoshis from the outside world appeared and requested to see the stone I had found. Not one to turn down guests, I was happy to oblige.

Little did I know, these outsiders weren't yoshis at all. And they attacked our village with a massive warship, taking the stone and capturing most of my tribe. The yoshis that didn't get away were soon enslaved by these outsiders and are being forced to dig up our homes for more stones like the one I had found a few days earlier.

Shadow: Those fools. They can't dig up Chaos Emeralds from the ground.

But they don't know that. And now our tribe is suffering because of it.

* * *

Chief: Me and the yoshis you see before you are the only ones that escaped. And we plotted to capture our oppressors by planting fake stones around the island. Sadly, we didn't count on you guys coming here looking for them. I apologize for the mix-up.

Sonic: No biggie. Accidents happen, right? As for your oppressors, we'll take care of them.

Chief: You mean, you guys are willing to help us despite what has happened?

Mario gave the Chief a thumbs up, assuring him that there were no hard feelings.

Chief: Thank you. I appreciate it.

The Chief returned to his stretcher and led the way to their oppressors.

Chief: We'll lead all of you to the village. Follow us.

Our heroes and the yoshis headed off for Yoshi Village.

* * *

E. Gadd: Uhmm...Hello? Guys? Wait! Don't go without me!

* * *

 _So a slight change from the original, I cut down some of the fight between Mario and the two yoshis. Mainly because it went on for too long. Seriously,no wonder no one talks about how awesome READING long over-the-top fight scenes were. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of those in this series and I'll just have to do my best to make them interesting for the reader._

 _Tomorrow we find out who these oppressors are, next time on SMBZ!_


	10. Trouble on Yoshi's Island-Part 3

Back at Yoshi Village, dozens of yoshis were put to work digging up their homes trying to find Chaos Emeralds and shackled to ball and chains in order to keep them from escaping. In the bushes, our heroes and the remaining yoshis watched in disgust at this injustice. Except for Professor E. Gadd who was still nauseas from being trapped in that net.

E. Gadd: Oh deary me, all that swinging and swaying has made me queasy. *urp*

Chief: Just look at it, Mario. My poor tribe reduced to mere slaves by these vile people. We have tried many times to free them, but our enemies possess far more advanced technology and battle skills. I just hope you can succeed where we have failed.

Sonic: Hey, no sweat. We'll get them out in no time. Isn't that right, Mario?

Mario gave Sonic a thumbs-up.

Chief: In any case, I can't seem to spot our enemies anywhere. I think now is a good time to strike.

Sonic: Then we have no time to lose, let's move it.

All our heroes rushed in to free the yoshis before the oppressors returned.

Chief: Be careful, my friends.

Our heroes freed all of the yoshis one by one. They faced no difficulty destroying their shackles and reuniting them with the rest of their tribe, aside from Yoshi nearly getting eaten when one of the balls turned out to be a Chain Chomp.

Sonic: Is that all of them?

E. Gadd: Yep. According to Chief Yoshi's records, everyone is present and accounted for.

Chief: My friends, no mere words can express how truly grateful we are. We are in your debt.

Sonic: Don't thank us yet Chief. We still have to deal with your captors. Not to mention finding that—

Shadow: Chaos Emerald!

Shadow pointed to the direction of the Gold yoshi statue. And sitting atop its head was the purple Chaos Emerald.

Sonic: I got it!

Sonic took off like a bullet, leaving the others in the dust as he ran towards the Chaos Emerald. But just as he was about to grab it, a red blur appeared out of nowhere and snatched the Emerald off the statue's head

?: YOINK!

Sonic: Noooooo!

The blur landed and it turned out to be Red Koopa of the Koopa Bros. Standing next to him were Black, Yellow and Green.

Red: Duuuuuude, score one for the Koopa Bros.!

Sonic: Great. Not those bozos again.

Shadow: What are you talking about, you idiot?! The only reason we came to this dino-infested rock was so that we could find those stupid turtles in the first place!

Shadow and the others rushed to Sonic's side, preparing to fight the Koopa Bros.

Sonic: Oh yeah. I forgot about that.

Red: Hey! Look who it is, bros. It's those losers we creamed the other day.

Yellow: Dude, I'm surprised they got here so quickly, considering the beating we gave them.

Black: We would've gotten here sooner if Green weren't using that gadget upside-down.

Green: Don't blame me dude. This is, like, totally righteous technology maaaan.

Sonic: Hey DUUUUUDES! That "totally righteous technology" belongs to us, MAAAAAAN!

Shadow: You punks got lucky last time. But you won't fluke a second victory. Now hand over that Chaos Emerald and that radar if you want to keep your shells!

Red: Dude, nobody disses the Koopa Bros. As for our Righteous Gem of Power, this baby ain't going nowhere.

Well he was right about one that. It didn't go "nowhere" it went right out of his hand. It took a second for the Koopa Bros. to process this.

Red: OUR RIGHTEOUS GEM OF POWER IS GONE!

Sonic: Alright Shadow! Way to go with that Chaos Control, buddy.

Shadow: First of all, NEVER call me "buddy". And second of all, I didn't do anything.

Sonic: Huh? If you didn't take that Chaos Emerald, then who-?

Luigi turned around and saw something that spooked him.

Sonic: What's up, Luigi?

Luigi pointed behind them and everybody turned and saw a massive warship. It resembled a giant axe with a face painted on the front. Standing atop the hull of the warship was a lone red figure with a large blonde ponytail, standing with his back behind our heroes. The figure disappeared within the blink of an eye and reappeared between our heroes and the Koopa Bros. Standing alongside him were four other unidentified people, each with different color schemes, black green, yellow, and pink. The black one had a white ponytail and seemed to be wearing sunglasses while the green one was taller and skinnier than the others. The yellow one was bigger and had a jetpack rather than a ponytail, and the pink one seemed to float rather than stand.

Red Stranger: We fight for evil!

Black Stranger: We live for disorder!

Green Stranger: We like what we do!

Yellow Stranger: We eat donuts!

Pink Stranger: We were the trendiest clothes!

Red Stranger: We are…

All five of them pulled out long battle axes and began twirling them around.

All five of them: Axem Rangers X!

Sonic: What the heck!? Koopa Bros.? Axem Rangers X? These guys are crawling out of the woodwork!

Chief: It's them! Those are the ones who enslaved my tribe!

Sonic: So these Axem Rangers are the guys responsible? No problem, just leave these chumps to us.

Axem Red: Well, lookie here, team. We're barely gone for ten minutes and we already have intruders swarming across our island trying to steal our Amethyst of Might.

Koopa Green: Dude, I swear those punks just ripped off our intro.

Koopa Red: Yo! I don't know who you are or where you're from but you better give back Righteous Gem of Power if you don't wanna get shellchocked!

Shadow, having just about used up his very low reserve of patience, started bursting with Chaos Energy, freaking out the others.

Shadow: INCOMPETANT MORONS! IT'S CALLED A CHAOS EMERALD! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS!

Axem Black: My my, these guys sure have attitude problems

Axem Yellow: They won't be so cocky once I slice off their big mouths.

Axem Red: We'll call it whatever we wanna call it. And there's nothing you can do about it. Hold the phone…

Axem Red got a good look at the leader of our merry band of Emerald collectors.

Axem Red: My, it's a small world after all. It's our old buddy Mario.

Axem Black: Did you say "Mario"? I still owe him a knuckle sandwich after the last time we met.

Axem Yellow: Speaking of sandwiches, I'm hungry. How about we grab a bite at McGoombas?

The other rangers face palmed.

Axem Green: Imbecile! Is food all you ever think about, ya big lummocks!?

Sonic: Wow Mario, you sure are popular with the bad guys, aren'tcha?

Mario recalled the last time he met the Axem Rangers and mentioned that they looked very different back then.

Axem Red: Pretty snazzy, huh? Master Smithy was kind enough to revive and upgrade us after our last encounter. Then tasked us to patrol the Mushroom Kingdom in search of a suitable energy source so that we may restore his powers. That's where the amethyst comes into the plan. After invading the island and studying this stone, we found that it was capable of generating large amounts of power. But, one wouldn't be enough to restore Lord Smithy to full capacity. O we forced the native dinosaurs to dig up the island in order to find more of them.

Sonic: Well, you guys have been wasting your time if you think you can find any more here. Chaos Emeralds are from a different dimension. Plus, there are only seven of them in existence.

Koopa Green: Yeah, and we're the ones that stole the gadget that finds them. Heh heh!

Koopa Red: Dude! Don't tell them about the radar, you big dope!

Axem Red: I see. Something tells me we're all after the same thing. So in that case, we'll fight all of you for it. Winners take all!

Koopa Red: Dude, I hope you have life insurance. Because you're gonna need it when we're done with ya!

Sonic: Don't blink. Or you'll miss the part where we kick your butts!

E. Gadd: Chief Yoshi, I think now is a good time to seek shelter. This could get pretty rough.

Chief: I agree. Let's leave this matter in the hands of the pros. Good luck my friends, show them what you're made of.

Mario and the other heroes leaped into action. As did the four Koopa Bros. The two of them ran right towards the middle, where the Axem Rangers were ready for a huge fight. The impact where these three forces collided created an epic explosion that sent all fourteen of them to the air. There, the battle began.

Sonic and Koopa Black curled up and tried to take on Axem Black and Axem Green respectively, but the Axem Rangers blocked their attacks with their axes. Sonic pulled back and Axem Green tried to hit Sonic with Koopa Black, but Sonic just kicked the Koopa shell to the black Axem Ranger. Axem Green tried to rush Sonic, but the Blue Blur deflected and threw him to the ground. Koopa Black had more luck and struck a blow against Sonic. Afterward, Axem Yellow appeared and punched Sonic into Koopa Black. He knocked Koopa Black out of the way with another punch and turned his arms into a hammer to knock Sonic down, returning the favor for his brother.

Shadow appeared and delivered a flying kick to the Axem Ranger's face. Then, he used Chaos Control to beat up Axem Yellow faster than he could react, before blasting him off with a Chaos Spear. Koopa Green appeared and tried to slam into Shadow, but missed every time. Shadow kicked Koopa Green higher into the sky.

While Koopa Green was defenseless, Yoshi arrived and took him out with one kick and just barely dodged an attack from Axem Pink. The two looked ready to square off but Koopa Green returned with Koopa Yellow and together, the two brothers slammed their opponents into each other, then with ninja like speed and precision, the two of them and attacked Yoshi and Axem Pink faster than they could defend themselves. The two managed to escape the barrage and made the Koopa Bros. crash into each other, knocking them out. The other two took the opportunity to knock them out of the fight, Yoshi with a Ground Pound and Axem Pink by swinging down her axe. With the Koopa Bros. out of the way, the two of them resumed their fight.

Mario and Luigi squared off against the leaders of the Koopa Bros. and the Axem Rangers. All four of them collided with each other with such impact it knocked out Koopa Red, whom Axem Red threw Luigi at. Axem Red proceeded to strike Luigi with his axe. Mario attempted to kick Axem Red, but he deflected it. What he couldn't deflect was Koopa Red's sneak attack from behind, giving Mario a chance to strike back. The both of them tried to attack Axem Red at the same time, but again, the leader of the Axem Rangers spun his axe with such speed, it prevented their attacks from connecting. But then Luigi arrived to deliver a devastating Luigi Missile to his back, stopping his defense and giving Mario the opportunity to take both Reds out with a single uppercut. The Mario Bros. then took out the mallets. Luigi used his to bash their enemies to Mario and Mario used his hammer to bash them into the ground.

The force of the blow was enough to send Axem Red and Koopa Red straight through a mountain! Both Reds hit the ground hard, but Koopa Red used the chance to kick Axem Red and send him flying. Then Mario appeared and the two continued their fight as they were running through the jungle. Axem Red interrupted and began slicing at them with his axe.

Then Luigi arrived and landed on Axem Red, pushing him into the dirt and making a large trench in the ground. The Mario Bros. threw their respective opponents into each other. Mario delivered a heavy kick to Axem Red and Luigi knocking Koopa Red out of the fight with his meanest uppercut.

Koopa Red landed in a clearing and realized that the odds were against him and his bros.

Koopa Red: BROS! Regroup!

The Koopa Bros. reunited and tried to form a plan.

Koopa Red: These dudes are a lot tougher than we thought. So I'd say it's Gem Power Time.

Koopa Red pulled out the Yellow Chaos Emerald and the Koopa Bros. redid the formation for the special attack. What they couldn't realize was that taking their Chaos Emerald out in the open allowed another certain individual looking for them to track it.

Mecha Sonic: Finally. Two more Emeralds have appeared out to sea. Time to collect what is rightfully mine.

Mecha Sonic charged up his thrusters and took off for Yoshi's Island.

* * *

 _ **As our heroes do battle against the Koopa Brothers and the Axem Rangers, Mecha Sonic speeds towards the island hoping to add two more Emeralds to his collection.**_

 _ **Can our heroes beat their foes in time before Mecha Sonic arrives? Or will the metallic tyrant get another step closer to his ultimate goal?**_

 _ **Don't miss the next thrilling installment of SUPER MARIO BROS. Z!**_

* * *

 _Sorry this took so long. I had a crap day at "work." You might've noticed the air quotes. It's a long story and this is not the place for it. Coming up next is, without a doubt, my favorite episode of SMBZ and I hope you're as excited for it as I am. Time for s! # to really get down as Mecha Sonic finally fights all our heroes at once._


	11. Brawl on a Vanishing Island-Part 1

Off the coast of Yoshi's Island, Wario was coming in from Cheep Cheep Ocean, using Waluigi as a life preserver. When Wario made it to the island, he lifted Waluigi off of him, making him deflate and fly around the beach until his head landed in the sand.

Wario pulled out a large sac filled with all the Chaos Emeralds that they found. Of which was a big fat zero. Wario tried to think up a way to get those Chaos Emeralds before what sounded like a large explosion went off, shaking the ground under them.

The Wario Bros. looked off into the distance and saw massive explosions going off throughout the island.

* * *

Deep in the jungle of Yoshi's Island, Mario and Luigi were being chased by the Koopa Bros. in their Chaos-charged special move. They leapt over rocks and ducked under platforms while the Koopa Bros. just smashed their way through them.

Then Axem Red appeared and tried to slice Mario in half. Mario jumped out of the way, landing on top of the Koopa Bros. Axem Red tried to attack Mario again while Mario was trying to find his balance, but Mario pullet out his mallet and parried Axem Red's attack. On this stalemate continued as Luigi tried to avoid getting hit by the Koopa Bros. Luigi jumped on a rock and used it to land behind them, then the Koopa Bros. changed direction and Luigi jumped and grabbed a vine and swung himself back to where he was. As a result, Luigi was the only one who noticed that they were heading for the side of a hill.

All seven of them crashed through the hill and on the other side, taking large pieces of it with them. Mario grabbed a piece and used it to kick Axem Red. He then tried to kick Koopa Red, who was standing on a larger rock. Koopa Red blocked the attack and tried to counter Mario but he blocked too. The rock began turning and the two combatants ran around to keep from falling off, then Mario grabbed the rock he was on and used it to spin his feet into Koopa Red's face. Koopa Red landed on the smaller rock and threw it at the rock Mario was standing on, but Mario jumped off of it and landed back on the smaller rock. Koopa Red went back to his shell and tried to attack Mario again, but Mario spun around, blocking every single attack. Again, the two didn't notice a giant mountain incoming and this time when they crashed into it, it hit them so hard their Radars fell out.

One of the radars landed on a cliff next to a rock, where the Wario Bros. were hiding, the other one kept falling, landing on a clearing below. Sonic stopped himself just in time to notice it and pick it up.

Sonic: Hey, it's the Emerald Radar! Looks like the Koopa Bros. dropped during the battle.

Axem Black: So that's the Emerald Radar you losers were talking about.

Sonic turned to his left and saw Axems Black, Green and Yellow glaring at him.

Axem Black: I suggest you hand over that handheld if you know what's good for ya.

Koopa Yellow: Dude, that's our radar.

Sonic turned to the right and saw Koopas Black, Green and Yellow.

Koopa Green: Yeah dude. We stole that radar fair and square. So it belongs to us!

Axem Yellow: We'll see about that!

Both sides went after the radar but Sonic got out of the way just in time for them to crash into each other. Sonic built up speed with the Spin Dash and ran with amazing speed as soon as he landed. Axems Black and Green followed him and worked together to create a giant saw blade by sticking out their axes and spinning around. Sonic kicked his speed into high gear and came upon a large boulder. Sonic leapt up to it, then leapt off of it, making the two Axem Rangers slice it in half and rush right past him.

Sonic then took off in the other direction where the Koopa Bros. were waiting for it. He dodged both Koopa's Black and Yellow and kicked Koopa Green into the sky. Sonic then hopped onto Koopa Black's shell, using it to travel faster while Shadow appeared and knocked Koopa Yellow out of the fight. The spinning saw blade of the Green and Black Axem Rangers returned. Sonic and Shadow dodged and humped over various obstacles and Shadow kicked Koopa Black into the Axem Rangers, but none of this even slowed them down. The Axem Rangers were gaining on them, but Sonic found a pole and used it to change direction without losing momentum, ditching the Axem Rangers and making it to the mountains.

As Sonic reached the summit, Axem Yellow appeared and came down like a meteor, bringing his axe down with such force it split the mountain in half!

* * *

Chief: No! Our beautiful island is being destroyed!

E. Gadd: Have faith in Mario and his friends. I'm sure they will save your island.

Chief: It's not that I don't have faith. it's just that if this battle keeps up, there won't be any island left to save!

* * *

In a clearing far from the mountains, Luigi saw an item box and hit it, hoping for an edge. What came out was a blue Koopa shell that Luigi equipped without even knowing what it was. At first, Luigi wondered what he'd do with this. Then he saw Axem Pink advanced towards him and hid inside the shell like a Koopa. Axem Pink knocked Luigi off of the used item box. She then continued to bash at Luigi with her axe, finishing her attack with a Petal Blast. Yoshi arrived, sucker punched Axem Pink and caught up to Luigi. Yoshi pulled Luigi into his mouth and carried him there as he got out of the way of Shadow and Axems Green and Black.

The three younger Koopa Bros. arrived to attack Yoshi, Green and Yellow in their shells, Black riding on top of Green. Yellow tried attack but Yoshi jumped out of the way and spit Luigi at Green. He then performed a flutter kick on Black's stomach then grabbed Black with his tongue. He spun him around before slamming him into the dirt. With the Koopa Bros. gone, Yoshi and Luigi thought they could catch their breath, but were immediately proven wrong when Shadow came to them, still followed by the Axem Sawblade.

Finally having enough of this, Shadow used Chaos Control to slow down time and delivered blow after blow to the two Axem Rangers while they were frozen. When it was done, Shadow turned time back to normal and Axems Green and Black were sent flying. As Axem Black fell back to Earth, Shadow used the opportunity to beat him up. Seeing that the coast was clear, Yoshi pulled Luigi back to his mouth to continue the fight elsewhere.

Meanwhile, all leaders typically associated with Red duked it out against each other. Mario jumped off of Koopa and Red and tried to deliver a kick to Axem Red. Axem Red deflected the attack and Mario pulled out his hammer to go against the Axem Ranger's axe. The two of them went at it, neither weapon seeming able to give their user the edge, until Axem Red threw his axe at Mario, performing a spin attack that left him defenseless enough for Koopa Red to return and knocked Mario far away.

* * *

Wario and Waluigi went to explore what was going on at this island, then they saw Mario flying towards them. The Wario Bros. ran to hide, while Mario smacked into the item box above their heads. Mario turned and saw a Fire Flower. He consumed it and transformed into Fire Mario.

Mario: Here we go!

Mario raced towards Koopa Red and caught him off guard with a blow to the stomach, Mario then delivered a flurry of fists, a spin attack and an uppercut. While Koopa Red was in the air, Mario send him back to the ground with a fireball. Axem Red came behind him and tried to hit him, but Mario leaped over him and delivered a Ground Pound, knocking the axe out of his hands. On the ground, the two combatants traded blow for blow, until Mario delivered a kick that sent him flying, then ran behind him and gave him another uppercut that threw him into the sky and topped it off with a charged fireball shot. The explosion from the impact threw Axem Red to the other side of the island, where he landed face first.

Axem Red pulled himself out of the ground and grabbed his arm.

Axem Red:OW! Darn it! How could such a portly little plumber be so strong?!

Three out of the remaining four Axem Rangers appeared around him.

Axem Pink: Are you okay Red? You don't look too good.

Axem Red: I'm fine, but these fools won't be when I'm done with them. It's time to nip this fight in the bud. I'm heading back to the blade. The rest of you take care of things down here. These fools will soon taste the power of the unstoppable Breaker Beam!

The three other Axem Rangers went ahead to keep fighting, while Red warped back to the Blade. He pointed the front of the ship to the mountains where Sonic was fighting Yellow and activated the Breaker Beam. The Bade's mouth opened wide and revealed a giant laser. Axem Red then pulled out the Chaos Emerald into the controls for the Breaker Beam.

Axem Red: Now then, let's see what kind of power this little trinket possesses.

* * *

Back on the mountains, Sonic was riding a snowboard down the side that Axem Yellow didn't destroy. Axem flew in front of Sonic to deliver another blow, but Sonic bounced right off him, sending him crashing into the snow and forming a giant snowball chasing the Blue Blur. Sonic leapt over the snowball and it flew off the mountainside. Sonic turned to the Blade and saw the laser charginf

Sonic: What the heck is that?

* * *

Axem Red had just finished installing the Chaos Emerald to the Breaker Beam.

Axem Red: BREAKER BEAM, FIRE!

The Breaker Beam, charged with the Chaos Emerald, created an explosion the size of all three mountains. Sonic was sent flying from the blast, but Yoshi came and saved him. By the time the Breaker Beam was done, there were almost no mountain left. Axem Red couldn't believe what the Chaos Emerald was capable of.

Axem Red: Holy Guacamole! This Amethyst sure packs a punch. Master Smithy could easily conquer the universe with this kind of power. Pity I missed my target though. But I won't miss next time.

* * *

Back on the ground, the rest of the Axem Rangers couldn't believe the Emerald's power either.

Axem Green: Woah. Heh, did the Breaker Beam just do that?

Axem Yellow: It's a good thing I was in that giant snowball, otherwise I'd be fried right now.

Axem Black: Yo, Red! Watch where you're firing that thing! You nearly hit us you crazy fool!

* * *

Sonic and Yoshi landed next to the other heroes.

Sonic: Oh man. What just happened?

Shadow: The Idiot Rangers just blew up the mountains using the Chaos Emerald.

Sonic: What!? Those idiots! Do they have any idea what they're messing with?

Shadow: Apparently not, considering they are charging up for another attack.

Sonic: Dang it! We've got to stop them before they blow up the whole island!

Chief: Oh no! This is terrible! TERRIBLE!

The Yoshi Chief and the professor ran up to our heroes.

Chief: Look at what those monsters have done. Our poor island will never be the same again.

Sonic: We're sorry, Chief. There was nothing we could do to prevent it.

Shadow: Quit your blubbering, Chief! We're doing the best we can! Just be thankful that you and your tribe are still alive right now.

Sonic: Shadow! Don't you think that was a little harsh?

Chief: No...he's right. I must be more responsible for the safety of my tribe. I guess the only thing I can do is round up my tribe and prepare to evacuate. At least until this whole incident blows over.

Sonic: Just leave it to us.

* * *

The Koopa Bros. also witnessed the Chaos Emerald's display of power.

Koopa Red: Duuuuuude! That's some gnarly firepower they got there. Time we got serious bros. It's Gem Power Time!

The Koopa Bros. got into position to preform the special move.

Sonic: Uh oh. Get ready everyone, the Koopa Bros. are preparing their special attack again.

Everyone got ready to defend themselves from the Koopa Bros. special attack, but then Shadow sensed something coming and groaned in pain.

Shadow: Nnnggghhh!

Sonic: Huh? What's up, Shadow?

Shadow: It's him! He's here!

Sonic: Who's here? No...You don't mean?

* * *

He did mean. Mecha Sonic was just off the horizon of Yoshi's Island. He was here and he wanted his Chaos Emeralds.


	12. Brawl on a Vanishing Island-Part 2

The Koopa Bros. had just finished charging their special move and were ready to finish off the Axem Rangers and our heroes.

Koopa Red: Let's get 'em dudes!

The Koopa Bros. charged straight at our heroes, only to be interrupted by Mecha Sonic smashing through their attack. Not only that, he also smashed through Red's shell, taking the Emerald from him. All four brothers fell to the ground unconscious.

Koopa Red: oooooooowwwwwww…bummer…

Mecha Sonic stopped at the remains of the mountain and started analyzing his surroundings. He looked up and saw the Blade and, more importantly, the Chaos Emerald powering it up. Mecha Sonic took off, heading straight for the Blade.

Axem Red had just finished charging up the Breaker Beam.

Axem Red: Say your prayers, Mario!

Mecha Sonic took the full impact of the Breaker Beam. But not only did it have no effect on him, Mecha Sonic was able to fly right through it as if it weren't even there. Mecha Sonic through the face of the Blade and emerged out of the back, taking the other Chaos Emerald and destroying the humongous warship from the inside.

Axem Red: What the heck?! Noooooooo!

The Blade exploded sending Axem Red into a freefall that ended with the leader of the Axem Rangers landing face first in the ground, burying him up to his waist. The rest of the Axem Rangers reunited with their leader to check on him.

Axem Black: Yo Red, are you okay?

Axem Red: Do I look okay YOU MINDLESS IDIOT!?

Mecha Sonic than landed right in front of our heroes and began taunting his old nemesis from Mobius.

Mecha Sonic: Hmmhmmhmm. Well, it's good to see you again Sonic, my old nemesis. It's so nice that you're going to such great lengths to help me find the Chaos Emeralds. These two now increase my collection to four, but I believe I'll have no trouble finding the remaining three by myself, so I'm afraid your services are no longer required.

Sonic: Nice try, Tin Grin. But we'll be taking those Emeralds back now.

Mecha Sonic: If you want them, why don't you try and take them?

Behind Mecha Sonic, the Axem Rangers appeared to analyze this new threat.

Axem Black: Yo Red, what does the scouter say about his power level?

On the screen in Axem Red's scouter, Axem Red was playing Pac-Man while the words "OVER 9000" flashed in the top right corner right before he died. Axem Red removed the scouter and, in a loud, dramatic fraction, told them what he saw.

Axem Red: IT'S OVER 9000!

Axem Yellow: What!? 9000!?

Mecha Sonic: Just who are these idiots?

Axem Red: We are the elite fighting force of the Smithy Gang. The one and only

All Axems: AXEM RANGERS X!

Axem Red: And in the name of Lord Smithy, I order you to hand over those Stones of Might!

Mecha Sonic: Bah! Unworthy life forms such as yourselves don't deserve the ultimate power. It shall be mine and mine alone!

Sonic: That power belongs to the citizens of Mobius and I won't allow you to abuse it any longer. You will pay dearly for what you did to Tails and my friends. I swear it!

Axem Red: Sorry to burst your bubble, but those stones will belong to us. Yellow, take him out!

Axem Yellow: With pleasure.

The largest and strongest of the Axem Rangers rushed towards Mecha Sonic and swung with all his might. Axem Yellow screamed when he saw that instead of the robot, _his axe_ split in half!

Mecha Sonic: Fools! If you're all so eager to throw your lives away, THEN SO BE IT!

Mecha Sonic pulled out all four of the Chaos Emeralds that he owned. All four of them merged with his body and he began to release a wave of energy that nearly knocked back our heroes and the Axem Rangers. When it was done, Turbo Mecha Sonic was now Semi-Super Mecha Sonic!

Mecha Sonic: I'LL CRUSH YOU!

The Axem Rangers got their weapons ready and charged at Mecha Sonic. Mecha Sonic took to the skies and the Axem Rangers followed him. There the battle took place, and by battle I mean one-sided massacre.

Axem Red kicked things off by striking Mecha Sonic, but Mecha Sonic warped behind him and kicked him out of the way. He did the same thing to Black, took out Green with a punch to the back of the head, blasted Yellow from behind after dodging a punch from him, and then warped all over Pink, leaving her too confused to keep track of him and leaving herself open to another kick from behind.

Mecha Sonic backhanded each one of the Axem Rangers with ease. None of them could lay a finger on him. After beating Yellow senseless, Mecha Sonic had enough playing around.

Mecha Sonic: DIE!

He curled up to a ball and sliced Axem Yellow in half lengthwise.

Axem Red: NO! He destroyed Yellow! It's payback time! Axem Rangers X, show no mercy!

If anyone was showing no mercy, it was Mecha Sonic. He grabbed Red's axe mid-swing then blasted him away. He then used Red's axe to cut Pink in half. He threw it into the air just as Black and Green appeared to perform their spinning sawblade move. Mecha Sonic destroyed it with a simple Spin Dash. Just then, Red's axe returned to Mecha Sonic's hand and he proceeded to use it to slice Green's head off and crush it with his bare hand. A second afterward, Black appeared behind him and Mecha Sonic threw Red's axe at him, splitting him in half. Then, in the spirit of overkill, he destroyed him with his chest laser.

Axem Red: You…You monster! How could you do such a thing?

Mecha Sonic: Monster? I'm not a monster. I'M A GOD!

Axem Red: We'll see about that. Time I introduced you to my secret weapon!

Axem Red reached one hand in the air and a large laser cannon appeared right above it.

Axem Red: Ooooohhhh yeeeeaaaahh… You're in big trouble now. And when I say big, I'm talking seven barrels of laser death AIMED RIGHT AT YOUR HEAD! Now you'll know what happens to those who messes with the Axem Rangers! So, are you ready to beg for forgiveness?

Mecha Sonic: Do you ever shut up?

Axem Red: I'll be the one who'll shut YOU up!

Axem Red pointed the laser cannon at Mecha Sonic and pulled the trigger. A huge beam of pure heat bursted from the cannon and completely covered Mecha Sonic. Surely, no one could survive that, right?

Wrong.

Axem Red let out a panicked scream after seeing Mecha Sonic completely unaffected.

Mecha Sonic: Are you finished? Good. Now, it's my turn.

Mecha Sonic moved towards Axem Red and beat him up faster than Axem Red could even see. Mecha Sonic let out an evil laugh before punching Axem Red back to the ground. Mecha Sonic warped to where Axem Red would land and grabbed him by the spine. He then punched Axem Red back into the sky and began charging up an energy attack.

Mecha Sonic: DIE!  
Mecha Sonic let loose a beam of energy from his hands. It was so big you could see it from space, so powerful that it reduced Axem Red to the smallest atoms.

The battle between the Axem Rangers X and Semi-Super Mecha Sonic ended in less than two minutes.

* * *

Sonic: Oh man! He destroyed all five Axem Rangers so easily.

Shadow: Heh, good. Now those losers won't get in the way when I'm fighting Mecha Sonic.

Sonic: Wow Shadow, you're certainly optimistic.

Mecha Sonic: Heh. I take it you're impressed, huh? And I did that with only four Chaos Emeralds. Just imagine how powerful I'll be when I use all seven. Though I doubt you'll live long enough to witness it.

Sonic: Not gonna happen pal. Not on my watch!

Our heroes all sprang into action. Well, almost all of them. Mario went back to see that Luigi was still stunned in shock and terror after seeing Mecha Sonic destroy the Axem Rangers.

Mario: Luigi.

Luigi looked at his brother, mouth still agape.

Mario: Let's a-go.

Luigi instead chose to hide in his shell until the battle was over and Mario just let out an annoyed grunt.

Sonic started chasing after Mecha Sonic. Sonic leapt up and tried to get in a good hit but Mecha Sonic just kept warping out of the way until Shadow came and accidentally kicked Sonic. The next time wasn't an accident as Shadow tried use Sonic as a projectile against Mecha Sonic but the robot just backhanded Sonic away. The two of them then clashed over and over again with neither combatant gaining the advantage until Shadow tried to warp behind Mecha Sonic, only for the evil robot to have seen that coming and warped behind him, delivering a blow that sent him plummeting to the ground.

Sonic returned riding on Yoshi. He curled up to a ball while Yoshi threw him at Mecha Sonic. Sonic bounced off the robot's armored shell. Yoshi grabbed Sonic again and threw him again, only this time Sonic bounced above Mecha Sonic, giving him an opportunity to kick him. While it didn't seem to hurt Mecha Sonic, it did bring him back to the ground. Yoshi tried to do a Ground Pound on him but Mecha Sonic warped out of the way and kicked Yoshi aside. He then proceeded to do the same exact thing to Sonic. When Sonic landed, Mecha Sonic began charging up his energy cannon to blow him up, only to be interrupted by a fire ball to his back.

Mecha Sonic turned around and saw Mario riding on Luigi's blue shell. Mecha Sonic then tried to shoot Mario, but Mario smacked Luigi into Mecha Sonic using his hammer. The shell bounced off of him but Mario's kick did not. Mario landed back on Luigi's shell and kept coming after Mecha Sonic. He tried to hit him with another fireball but they were either dodged or countered. One stray fireball ended up landing on Wario and the Wario Bros. panicked until the two of them fell off a cliff into the ocean.

Sonic, Shadow and Yoshi returned to the fight, but Mecha Sonic just got out of the way and fired a humongous energy beam into the sky, causing lasers to fall over the island, including at our heroes' heads. Everyone just barely managed to avoid being blown to kingdom come. Then Shadow warped next to Mecha Sonic and stopped his barrage by kicking him. Sonic had just barely stopped himself from running off a cliff, but Yoshi and Mario crashing into him rendered his efforts pointless.

Shadow and Mecha Sonic battled while the rest of our heroes slid down a large hill. Each of them was stacked one on top of the other and were trying desperately to maintain their balance. They reached the bottom and raced towards Shadow and Mecha Sonic. They stopped once they saw the two of the appeared before them and were charging up Chaos Energy.

Shadow: Chaos…

Mecha Sonic: Chaos…

Everyone else: Oh no…

Shadow & Mecha Sonic: BLAST!

The explosion sent Sonic, Yoshi, Luigi and Mario to the sky and nearly reduced the area around them to cinders. Shadow and Mecha Sonic stared each other down. Shadow tried to attack but Mecha Sonic warped under him and kicked him into the air. Mecha Sonic chased after him, making sure to get hits in on the rest of our heroes and delivered Shadow to the ground via one painful punch.

Mario tried to attack him next but Mecha Sonic disappeared then reappeared with a charged energy cannon pointed at Mario's face.

Mario: Mamma Mia!

The charged shot carried Mario next to the mountains, where it exploded, cancelling Mario's fire flower and knocking him unconscious.

Luigi landed not too far from Mario and panicked as he saw his brother passed out.

Luigi: Mario!

Sonic managed to land without incident and Mecha Sonic appeared in front of him. Sonic got ready to keep the fight going but Mecha Sonic just laughed.

Sonic: Hey, what's so funny?

Mecha Sonic: Oh nothing. I just can't believe how easy this all is. I've been toying with you during the whole battle and I already have you and your pathetic new friends on the ropes.

Sonic: Don't flatter yourself bolt brain. This fight isn't over yet.

Mecha Sonic: Wrong. This fight was over long ago in Mobius. Your friend Shadow merely delayed the inevitable. This is our last meeting, Sonic. So take your last few breaths of fresh air before I send you and this pitiful island to the bottom of the sea!

Sonic: WHAT!? No! You can't! So many innocent lives will be lost!

Mecha Sonic: I know. Heh heh heh. Farewell Sonic, have a happy afterlife.

Sonic tried to stop him before Mecha Sonic could take off, but it was too late. Mecha Sonic appeared hundreds of miles above Yoshi's island.

Mecha Sonic: THE END HAS COME!

Mecha Sonic began charging up a ball of energy, the ball grew bigger and bigger, blocking out the sun and continuing to grow past that.

Luigi screamed as he saw Mecha Sonic prepare the tool for their demise.

Luigi: Mario! Waaahahaha! Huh?

Luigi stopped his crying when he remembered something important, the 1-up mushroom the princess gave him. Luigi took it out and used it to revive his brother. Mario spring up filled with energy.

Mario: Just what I needed!

Luigi: MARIO!

Mario looked to his brother and saw him pointing at Mecha Sonic's island destroying ball. Mario looked around for something to use and saw an item box on top of a nearby hill. Luigi helped Mario get to that box. When Mario hit it, out came a Starman that Mario grabbed but didn't use yet. Mario got an idea and told his brother to follow him.

* * *

Chief: Oh my goodness. What's going on up there? Is it the end of the world?

Sonic: Hey Chief, we've gotta get everyone off this island on the double. How's the evacuation going?

Chief: Not good. We've only just rounded up the whole tribe ready to evacuate. But I don't think we have enough time to escape before that monstrosity destroys us.

E. Gadd: If only I had installed my new remote controlled thingamajigger to the poltergust before we left, then I could have flown us off the island.

Sonic: Even if you did, I doubt you could fit us and an entire tribe of yoshis on it professor. Shadow, I know you can use Chaos Control without an Emerald's power. Do you think-

Shadow: No can do Sonic. My use of Chaos Control is limited to short distances without an Emerald. Even if I could, I wouldn't have enough power to warp us and all of the yoshis to safety. If only I got my hands on one of the Chaos Emeralds during the battle.

Sonic: This is just great! So are just gonna stand here and wait for death?

Mario and Luigi reunited with the others.

Sonic: Hey Mario! Good to see you're okay. Had me kinda worried there for a moment.

Mario pulled out the Starman.

Sonic: Huh? What's that you got there? A star?

Mario explained his plan to Sonic.

Sonic: You want me to share its power with you? Why? What does it do?

Shadow:Oh, for crying out loud, Sonic! We don't have time for 20 questions, just do it!

Sonic: alright, alright! I'll do it.

Everyone got out of the way as Mario and Sonic used the Starman's power. The Starman made Mario invincible but more importantly, it transformed Sonic into Super Sonic!

Sonic: Woah! This power is amazing! I'm sure we'll have no problem taking care of Mecha Sonic now. What do you say we send ol' metal butt back to the crapp heap where he belongs?

Mario: Let's a-go!

Sonic grabbed Mario's hand and lifted into the sky. Mecha Sonic was still charging up his energy ball before Sonic and Mario arrived.

Mecha Sonic: Yes! Just a little more and this puny island is history! WHAT?!

Mecha Sonic saw Super Sonic and Mario flying towards him. The two heroes performed a Spin Dash attack that knocked the four Chaos Emeralds right out of the metal monster, turning him back to normal! Sonic wasted no time grabbing all four of them and then appeared in front of Mecha Sonic to finish him off.

Sonic: You're finished!

Mecha Sonic could do nothing but watch in terror as Sonic began charging the final blow. At least until, the Starman wore off and Sonic changed back to normal.

Sonic: Well, that little experience was pretty short-lived.

Sonic began falling to the ground as Mecha Sonic howled in Rage

Mecha Sonic: DAMN YOU, SONIC! YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE THIS ISLAND ALIIIIIIIIIVE!

Mecha Sonic warped over the energy ball and kicked it towards the island. Sonic and Mario looked up as they fell and tried to make themselves fall faster. On the ground, everyone else was panicking while Shadow just waited for a Chaos Emerald to come.

Shadow: Hmmm. This is gonna be close.

Sonic: Heads up, Shadow!

Sonic threw the purple Chaos Emerald down and Shadow caught it in one hand.

Shadow: Heh heh. It's good to be back.

Just before Sonic and Mario hit the ground, Shadow slowed down time and tapped into the Emerald's power.

Shadow: Chaos Control!

Just like that, everyone on the island vanished off of Yoshi's Island to the mainland. Well, almost everyone. Whether it be from apathy or all the excitement, Shadow did not bring along the Koopa Bros. along. The only good thing was that all four of them were unconscious and didn't have to face their deaths. The orb crashed into Yoshi's Island and destroyed everything. It didn't just scorch the Island, it wiped it off the face of the planet. In it's place was a tremendous mushroom cloud.

Mecha Sonic looked on at what he had committed. Normally, he reveled in destruction. But this time, he couldn't take any pleasure in it. Sonic and the rest of his friends all escaped along with his Chaos Emeralds. The next time he finds them, he won't just kill them, he'll make them long for death.

* * *

Everyone appeared off the coast of the Mushroom Kingdom, still frozen in time. Shadow walked away before Sonic and Mario hit the ground. The impact knocked the shell off of Luigi. Luigi saw that Mario was stuck so he helped pull Mario out of the ground, only for him to land on him knocking Luigi into the ground.

Luigi: Mamma Mia.

E. Gadd: GADZOOKS! That was a little bit too close for comfort.

Sonic: Good thing Mario found that star, otherwise we wouldn't be here right now. Ho Shadow, thanks! You really saved our bacon, buddy.

Shadow: How many times must I tell you? Never. Call me. BUDDY!

Sonic: *sigh* Always a pleasure speaking with ya, Shadow.

Mario turned around and saw the Yoshi tribe staring off into the distance, looking at the mushroom cloud that was once their home.

Chief: I can't believe it's all gone. It saddens me that there are monsters out there that take great pride in causing pain to others. Even though the Koopa Bros. and the Axem Rangers were bad, I never would've wished such a cruel fate upon them. I sense dark times up ahead, Mario. The Mushroom Kingdom needs your help now more than ever. Promise me that you'll never give up, even when the outcome looks its bleakest.

Mario: I promise.

Chief: Well my friends, it's time for us to part ways. I wish you all the best of luck on your quest.

Sonic: You too. I hope your search for a new home yields success.

Chief: Take care of yourselves.

Everyone but Shadow waved farewell as the Chief and the rest of the yoshis left to search for a new home.

Sonic: Well, at least one good thing came out of all this. We managed to bag four Chaos Emeralds. Leaving ol' Mecha Moron with a big fat zero.

Shadow: Don't get too excited, Sonic. This only makes us #1 on Mecha Sonic's hit list.

E. Gadd: Well, you boys appear to have everything under control. I'll be heading for home now.

Sonic: Huh? You're not staying with us, Professor?

E. Gadd: 'fraid not. This old heart of mine has had enough action to last a dozen lifetimes. But I will be assisting you boys from the lab. The Emerald Radar was created with a built-in transceiver so I that may contact you. Providing, of course, you got it back from those Koopa Bros.?

Sonic: Have no fear, Professor. I got it right here.

E. Gadd: Excellent! In that case, I'll be taking the Radar Radar just for safekeeping.

Everybody looked at Mario while the portly plumber just pointed to himself confused.

E. Gadd: Yes, you, Mario. You're the one who had it last.

Mario checked his pockets and panicked when he realized he lost it.

E. Gadd: What do you mean you lost it? I can't trust you boys with anything!

Sonic: Relax Professor. We were the only ones on that island and I know Mecha Sonic doesn't have it. My guess is it's probably at the bottom of the sea right now.

* * *

Quite the opposite, actually. For on the surface of the sea, Wario was using Waluigi as a life preserver to swim back to shore. Wario reached inside his pocket and retrieved the Radar Radar. Wario flashed a victory sign as the Wario Bros. now finally have a way to get those Emeralds for themselves.

* * *

 _ **After a hard fought battle, our heroes have now gained the upper hand.**_

 _ **With the four Chaos Emeralds in tow, what new challenges await them?**_

 _ **Can they find the remaining three Emeralds before Mecha Sonic?**_

 _ **Or will the greedy Wario Bros. interfere now that they are tracking their every move?**_

 _ **Find out in the next heart-stopping episode of SUPER MARIO BROS. Z!**_

* * *

 _Whoo! This was the longest episode yet, but I didn't see a goo point to stop it and split it for another chapter. Anyway, I'm glad that this episode ended on Saturday because I need tot ell you something important. Starting tomorrow, I will be writing my own original episode._

 _Y'see Alvin Earthworm hated episode 7 and wanted to right a completely new one for the reboot. Before, I was just going to scrub out the parts he didn't like but otherwise tell the episode as is. But then I decided that sooner or later, I'm going to have to write my own original episodes to keep this series going and that now would be good practice. I also thought that if this series is trying to stay true to the author's vision, it should change to match his new ideas and not just repeat the old ones._

 _That's not to say elements of the original episode 7 won't mix with the new version. But in order to really get it right, I'll have to take a week off from . Two weeks, tops. I promise it won't take a year-and-a-half this time._

 _The reason why is actually more a confession. I hardly ever played a Mario game in my life. And for this new episode I got in my head, I'm going to need to study up more on Mario in order to get it right. After that, I'll have to jot down an outline of what characters do and say before putting all together into a single episode._

 _So I hope all of you will be patient as I try my hand at writing my own (mostly) original episode of SMBZ!_


	13. The Boo King of Evershade Valley-Part 1

In the stone fortress that is Bowser's Castle, Kamek, royal adviser and righthand manof the feared King Koopa, was having an argument with the two Koopatrols guarding the door to Bowser's throne room.

Kamek: Permission to speak with his royal Koopaness.

Koopatrol 1: I'm terribly sorry Lord Kamek, but we're under strict orders by the King himself to make sure no one disturbs him until further notice.

Kamek: But I have news of the utmost urgency for him. I command you to let me pass.

Koopatrol 2: Nevertheless, the King won't be ready to see you until he is done having his...tantrum.

* * *

Bowser Koopa, Iron-Shelled Ruler of the Koopa Kingdom, Scourge of the Mushroom Kingdom, Nemesis to the Great Hero Mario, was, as of this moment, sitting on the floor, banging his fists and bawling his eyes out.

Bowser: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I HATE THAT MARIO! IHATEHIMIHATEHIMIHATEHIMIHATEHIMIHATEHIMIHATEHIM! HE'S ALWAYS RUINING MY NEFARIOUS SCHEMES! I WAS SO CLOSE TO WINNING THAT TIME! BUT HE STILL WON! IT'S NOT FAIR! HE'S SUCH A MEANIE! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

* * *

Kamek: He's still throwing a tantrum? Wow, this must be a new record for him.

Koopatrol 1: In any case, we can't let you pass until he has calmed down. Please come again later.

Kamek: Don't you nincompoops understand?! This is important!

?: There you are! I've been looking all over for you.

Kamek turned around and saw the face of Kammy Koopa, the other Magikoopa in Bowser's army as well as the Koopa King's lefthand woman.

Kamek: M-M-Mother? What are you doing back here so soon?

Kammy: I just got back from my vacation. But as for you, I am very disappointed in you. The moment I got back here, I checked your bedroom and what did I find? Everything was neat and tidy! I thought I told you to mess up your room before I got back. How am I supposed to teach you bad manners when you're constantly behaving yourself?

Kamek: Wait, I can explain! I've been very busy serving his royal Evilness and I've been-

Kammy: Enough of your excuses, young Magikoopa! Go to your room and mess it up this instant!

Kamek floated away to his room, grumbling and dejected, leaving Kammy alone with the Koopatrols.

Kamek: Meh...I never get to have any fun...

Kammy: Well anyhoo, I'll be delivering the important news in Kamek's place, so I'll just let myself in.

With a wave of her wand of her magic wand, the doors swung open for Kammy, squishing the two guards next to them. Kammy floated in and closed the doors behind her, letting out the two dazed Koopatrols.

Kammy: Oh, your wickednessss! I'm baaaaaaaaccccckkkk!

Bowser warmly welcomed Kammy into his throne room with a fireball to the face.

Bowser: Kammy, you nimrod! Is it too much to ask that I get to have a tantrum in peace, you old hag?

Kammy: *cough* But your Repulsiveness, I bring urgent news from our spies located around the ocean. It would seem that your loyal minions, the Koopa Bros., have, uh, "turned in their shells."

Bowser: What!? They quit!? Those lousy color-coded Koopas. How dare they turn their backs on me!

Kammy: No you're Putridness. What I meant is that they and the entirety of Yoshi's Island has been destroyed!

At this, Bowser grabbed Kammy by the throat and pulled her in close to his face.

Bowser: What did you say!? I am seriously not in the mood for any of your jokes, Kammy!

Kammy: *choke* But I speak the truth, your Grunginess. Our spies *wheeze* reported that the whole island was destroyed by some spiky blue robot! *gasp*

Bowser dropped Kammy and started airing out his frustration at this new information while Kammy laid on the ground seeing stars.

Bowser: Unbelievable! How dare anyone go around MY kingdom without MY permission!

Kammy: Not only that, your Wretchedness, but it would appear your old friend Mario is involved as well. It was reported that he has teamed up with two spiky fellas who are searching for powerful gemstones called Chaos Emeralds, if I recall correctly...urf

Bowser: Did you say...Chaos...Emeralds? So, that old man's stories were true after all. If they really are as powerful as he says they are, then not even Mario will be able to stop me once I get my claws on them. Hah hah hah!

Kammy: Old man? Who are you talking about, your Gnarliness?

Bowser: That's not important right now. Did our spies find out if Mario has any of the Emeralds?

Kammy: Yes, your Roundness. He currently has four of them in his possession.

Bowser: Excellent! That mustached moron has already done half the work for us. And while he's Emerald hunting, that leaves Peach's castle defenseless. I'm sure he'd be willing to give up those Emeralds with the right motivation.

Kammy: You're not planning to kidnap the princess again, are you?

As if she really needed to ask.

Bowser: You bet I am! Bwah hah hah hah hah! KOOPALINGS, REPORT!

Almost instanly, one by one, all eight of Bowser's children, aka the Koopalings, arrived in Bowser's throne room. Their names were, in order of youngest to eldest, Larry Koopa, Morton O. Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa, and Bowser Jr.

Ludwig: You bellowed, King Dad?

Bowser: Excellent response time, kids. I want all of you to round up the troops. We're going on a little trip to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Bowser Jr.: Oh boy! We're going on a vacation!

Bowser: Not a vacation, you dolts! An invasion! You have one hour to prepare. Now, HOP TO IT!

The Koopalings couldn't get out of Bowser's throne room fast enough.

Bowser: Kammy, you go ahead and rally the troops. I need to go check on my secret weapon.

Kammy: Secret weapon, your Smelliness?

Bowserwas already gone. Having taken the secret elevator that went down to where his secret weapon was located.

* * *

In an underground lab beneath Bowser's Castle, an enigmatic figure was staring at a computer screen. This figure had a round body with thin arms and legs. Goggles rested on top of his head while his hair seemed completely dedicated to growing out of his upper lip, creating a mustache as wide as his shoulders. Behind him, the secret elevator's doors opened and the figure turned around and saw King Koopa approaching him.

?: Ah, your Majesty. To what do I owe the presence of your greatness?

Bowser: Enough of your sweet talk, old man. Is my new doom ship ready yet?

With a push of a button, the screen changed to show a large warship filled with enough ammunition to level a city.

?: There, isn't it a beauty? I call it the "Omega Doomship". The Koopa workforce you've supplied me with have already finished construction. All I need to do is work on the onboard computer defense systems before it can be safely launched.

Bowser: Is it able to fly in its current state?

?: Yes. Of course.

Bowser: Good, then fire up the engines. We leave for the Mushroom Kingdom in an hour.

?: WHAT!? But if we leave now, we won't have any real defense against a possible attack! Most of these weapons will end up being just for show!

Bowser: Unless you hadn't realized, Mario and his merry bunch have already found four of those Chaos Emeralds you told me about, so we don't have time to worry about technicalities. Besides, Peach's castle isn't exactly well protected and I'll be bringing along an entire legion of my finest troops. So quit worrying.

?: *hmph* Very well. We leave in an hour as per your orders.

Bowser: By the way, what's the status on that secret weapon I commissioned from you?

?: I'm glad you asked, my liege. I had just finished working on it moments before your arrival. It has been built and programmed precisely to the very last detail that you gave me. All that's left now is to activate it. Shall I do the honors?

Bowser: Show me!

The mysterious scientist pressed another button and a long metal tube descended from the ceiling. The tube opened, revealing a robot with a mustache, blue overalls and a red hat with the letter M printed on it. Just as Metal Sonic was designed to combat Sonic, Bowser had ordered the construction of his own Metal Mario to destroy his most hated enemy.

* * *

 _I think here is a decent place to end this part. I know there isn't a fight scene but I think it's appropriate to take a break and write a new part tomorrow. I'm aware that this isn't very original yet, but it will be soon enough._

 _Sorry it took so long for a new episode but AlvinEarthworm didn't like the original episode so I had to make a new one. And since Alvin had shown plans of using King Boo in the reboot and I couldn't figure out a better place to put him. So I had to take a week off to brush up on my Luigi's Mansion in order to make this episode. I hope it catches your interest and I hope I can do it well. But we'll only find out tomorrow in a new chapter of SMBZ!_


	14. The Boo King of Evershade Valley-Part 2

Riding on the professor's poltergust, our five heroes sat waiting to reach their destination: Evershade Valley. A town entirely populated by spirits of the undead. Surprisingly, Luigi seemed the most excited on this trip as he had visited and even saved the town before.

Sonic: That's some story, Luigi. I gotta admit, you're a lot tougher than I gave you credit for.

Luigi stuck out his chest in pride as he relayed to Sonic and Shadow about the times he saved Mario from the evil King Boo and how he conquered his fear of ghosts.

Shadow: What I find most surprising is that the professor would call a coward like you to hunt ghosts.

Luigi grumbled at Shadow's jab.

Sonic: Come on, Shadow. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

Luigi: Mm-hmm!

Sonic: And besides, the only reason he called Luigi was because Mario got caught.

Luigi: D'oh!

Sonic: I'm just kidding ya, Luigi. So are we at this Evershade place yet?

Shadow: Considering that it is now nighttime at 1:30 in the afternoon, I'd say we're close.

Mario and Yoshi were sitting out in front, looking down for Evershade Valley.

Mario: Huh?

Sonic: What is it, Mario?

Mario pointed down and everyone looked at the ground under them. They saw a giant purple force field covering what looked like a large abandoned city.

Luigi: Woah!

Sonic: Is that Evershade Valley,Luigi?

Luigi nodded his head.

Sonic: By any chance, has that weird purple force field always been there?

Luigi shook his head this time.

Sonic: I didn't think so. Let's go down there and investigate.

The heroes descended and landed the poltergust just outside the force field. As soon as they did though, the Emerald Radar started ringing from Mario's pocket. Mario pulled it out and saw the smiling old face of Professor E. Gadd.

E. Gadd: Good day, boys. I just returned to my lab. How goes the Emerald Hunt?

Mario: The Emerald Radar led us to Evershade Valley but we seem to have hit a snag.

E. Gadd: Hmm? How so? The ghosts there are friendly again so there shouldn't be any proble-

Mario turned the Radar to show the Professor the force field and the professor went silent.

E. Gadd: Ah! I see. That definitely could be a problem.

Shadow: Out of my way, fools.

Shadow shoved Sonic and the others aside and approached the force field.

Sonic: Hey! What do you think you're-

Shadow: It's simple. All I need to do is use Chaos Control and I could just warp us into the city.

E. Gadd: I wouldn't recommend that, Shadow my boy. There's no telling where that force field came from, or what effect it might have on your Chaos Control powers. No, I wouldn't consider even touching the thing, let alone trying to get through it.

Shadow: Fine then. So what do you think we should do to get in?

E. Gadd: I have an idea that might work. But first, I need all of you to get to Luigi's house.

Luigi: Eh?

E. Gadd: All will be explained in due time, my lad. While you're there, would you mind grabbing the Poltergust 5000? I've finally created a safe storage space for King Boo.

Sonic: King Boo? Isn't that the guy you told us about, Luigi?

Luigi: Mm-hmm.

E. Gadd: Boos get stronger the more there are of them together. We couldn't run the risk of putting King Boo with them and becoming strong enough to break out. So we left him in the Poltergust 5000 and kept it as far away from the Vault as possible by letting Luigi keep it at his house. But now, I've invented a separate vault just for him, one where he can never escape from. I'll show it to you once you get to Evershade Valley.

Sonic: Got it, Professor. See ya soon.

Shadow: Let's go already! The sooner we get pass that force field, the sooner we can find that fifth Chaos Emerald!

Everyone hopped back on the Poltergust 6000 and flew to Luigi's house.

* * *

When the heroes were on their journey to Evershade Valley, they had no idea that they were being followed by the Wario Bros., who were tracking their every move thanks to the Emerald Radar Radar. And while the heroes were concerned about what effects the force field might have on them, the Wario Bros. did not. All that mattered to them was getting that Emerald and striking it rich.

But first they needed to get past that force field. Fortunately, Wario got an excellent idea. He grabbed Waluigi and stretched him out to a long pole-like shape. He then stuck his brother out in front of him and took a few steps back. Waluigi was confused, then when his brother started running towards the force field. Wario was going to use Waluigi as a battering ram to smash through the force field.

But as soon as Waluigi's face hit the force field, both Wario Bros. were zapped with about a thousand volts of electricity, followed by being blown up and sent flying just below the heroes' poltergust 6000, screaming all the way.

Sonic: Do you guys hear something?

Everyone else didn't seem to hear a thing.

Sonic: Must be my imagination then. So anyway, I didn't think you had your own house, Luigi. I just thought you stayed with your brother.

Luigi: I live with Mario because it's closer to the castle, in case something happens to the princess. I do visit occasionally so my polterpup doesn't get lonely.

Sonic: Polterpup? What's that?

Luigi: It's a ghost dog I adopted after I saved Evershade Valley. Before that he caused me a lot of trouble. Do you want me to tell you about it?

Sonic: I'm good. Is that it, Luigi?

Luigi looked down to where Sonic was pointing and nodded his head.

Sonic: Then down we go!

The poltergust landed and everyone hopped off and looked up at Luigi's house.

Sonic: Huh. It's a little smaller than what I thought.

Luigi's home turned out to be a simple one story building with a large window where you can see out through the attic. Aside from a little wear and tear on the outside walls, there wasn't really much to write home about it.

Luigi: Hmm?

Sonic: No offense, Luigi. But with all that cash you found laying around in your story, I'd have thought you'd sprung for something bigger. It's not bad, but compared to a mansion or something, I'd have to give it a D.

Luigi: Hmph!

Sonic: Hey, it could be worse. You could've been living inside a tent, for all I knew! Either way, do you mind leading us inside, Luigi?

Luigi: All right.

Luigi lead the boys into his house.

Luigi: You wait here while I go get the poltergust 5000 from the attic.

Sonic: Alright.

Luigi went upstairs to the attic. He start to wonder where his polterpup was. Normally, whenever Luigi came home it would jump up and lick his owner. But now it would appear that he wasn't even home. Where could he be?

Luigi made it to the attic and once he got there, he was met with a frightening sight. On one wall was the wardrobe where the poltergust 5000 was stored. And it was shaking. Luigi started shaking too and asked for his brother to come.

Luigi: Mariooooo...

Mario, Sonic and Yoshi went to the attic while Shadow stayed behind with the Poltergust 6000. The three of them checked to see what was wrong and saw the shaking cabinet too.

Sonic: That's not normal here, is it?

The other three shook his head.

Sonic: It can never be simple, can it? Alright, me and Mario will go check it out, you just stay here with Yoshi.

Luigi: Mm-hmm.

Sonic and Mario approached the wardrobe. Each of them grabbed a knob and pulled it open. There they saw the cause of the shaking. A scared polterpup with its ghostly tail between them. The polterpup tentatively looked behind and saw his master, Luigi. It leapt out of the wardrobe in excitement and pounced on Luigi, licking his face while the plumber just laughed.

Sonic: Is that the polterpup you were talking about? What was it doing in there?

Luigi: Idunno. Hmm? Waaaaahh!

Luigi's confusion turned into terror as he saw the poltergust 5000 inside the cabinet. It was destroyed and it's sole occupant was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Back downstairs, the TV turned on by itself and Shadow got ready to throw a Chaos Spear if necessary. What appeared was the smiling face of Professor Gadd.

E. Gadd: Ah, Shadow my boy. I take it that you and the others have made it to Luigi's house?

At this point, Sonic and the others appeared downstairs.

Sonic: Hey there, Professor. Listen about the poltergust-

E. Gadd: I'm afraid it will have to wait, we have more pressing metters to attend to right now. Everyone hang on, you're about to be pixelated.

Luigi: Waaah!

Sonic: Pixelated? What does that m-

Before Sonic could finish his sentence, our heroes were transformed into pixels and sucked into the TV. When they reappeared in the real world, they were in the professor's bunker in Evershade Valley.

Sonic: EEAANN?!

The heroes fell on top of another in a big pile.

E. Gadd: Hello Boys! I trust you're trip had went well? Especially, considering that I've never used the pixelator on more than one subject at once.

Shadow: Where the hell are we, you crazy old man!

E. Gadd: Temper, Shadow. Welcome, boys, to my impenetrable bunker inside Evershade Valley.

Sonic: It,uh, doesn't look all that impenetrable, to be honest Professor.

Sonic was right. The interior of the bunker was a total mess. Machines were dented and caved in, fractured glass laid out in front of three large broken computer screens and a water cooler was tipped over and spilling water all over the floor.

E. Gadd: Well, it was impenetrable, but it would appear that someone penetrated it. But back to the more pressing matters, Luigi, where is the poltergust 5000?

Sonic: That's the thing Prof, when we found it, it was destroyed and King Boo escaped.

E. Gadd: Ah! That would explain a lot actually. See that device over there at the end of the room?

The heroes turned to where the professor was pointing and saw a small red and yellow device with a green screen and several buttons on it.

E. Gadd: I call that device "the Vault". It's used to store all sorts of things, most importantly ghosts.

The professor pulled out a remote with two buttons.

E. Gadd: This remote opens two of the Vault's sections. One's for the Ghost Container and the other is for the Boo Canister. Watch what happens when I press the button to release the Boos.

Luigi tried to stop him, but the professor pushed the button to release the Boos from the vault and nothing happened.

Sonic: Eh? Nothing's happening.

E. Gadd: Exactly. Whoever broke in here, released the Boos and destroyed the place from the inside. And after hearing your story, I have every reason to believe it was King Boo. Luckily, I kept an emergency pixelator hidden inside the Bunker just in case something like this may happen. I also kept my latest invention, the Poltergust 7000.

The professor handed the Poltergust 7000 to Luigi, who strapped it onto his back, no questions asked.

E. Gadd: The bad news however is that there's only enough juice left for one more pixelation, and with the monitor destroyed, I can't pinpoint the exact location of the Chaos Emerald.

Sonic: It should be fine though, right? We still got the Emerald Radar and the ghosts here should me more than willing to help us out.

E. Gadd: They would be if the Dark Moon hadn't disappeared again.

Luigi: WHAAAAT?!

E. Gadd: Yes, I'm afraid that around the same time King Boo released his servants and vandalized the Bunker, he has also destroyed and hidden the Dark Moon once again. So, it's more likely that the ghosts will be more of a hindrance than a help.

Sonic: Even so, I still have confidence we can find it before Mecha Sonic does. We don't have a choice.

E. Gadd: I agree. Still, finding the next Chaos Emerald might prove a very difficult task. Therefore, I propose sending Stuffwell to aid you in your mission.

Mario: You don't really need to do that, professor.

E. Gadd: No, no, I insist. He'll be invaluable in helping you find the Emeralds. I'll be teleporting him here right now. Would you boys mind stepping outside to wait for him? There isn't much fog, so you should be fine. Plus, it's getting rather cramped in here.

Our heroes stepped outside of the Bunker and waited for Stuffwell while Luigi kept an eye out for any ghosts that might approach them with the Poltergust 7000 strapped to his back.

High above the heroes' heads, a ball of light had formed and produced what appeared to be a suitcase. The suitcase fell to the ground at breakneck speeds, with only Luigi noticing and screaming as it headed straight for him.

The suitcase landed on Luigi, sending him straight into the ground. The suitcase then stood up and greeted Sonic, Mario, Shadow and Yoshi.

Stuffwell: Greetings, Master Mario. It has been a while. I trust you are in good health?

Mario: Mm-hmm.

Stuffwell: And you two must be Sonic and Shadow? I am Stuffwell. The professor has briefed me about your mission to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds and I will do everything in my power to assist you.

Sonic: Uh...Thanks, Stuffwell.

Sonic couldn't believe he was talking to a suitcase.

Stuffwell: Hmm...I was also told that Luigi would be with you as well, but I don't see him anywhere. Where could he be, I wonder?

Luigi popped out of the ground under Stuffwell and glared angrily at him.

Stuffwell: Oh, I did not see you there, Master Luigi. We really should stop meeting like this.

Luigi pulled out his hammer, ready to pummel Stuffwell. But before he could, Yoshi grabbed him with his tongue and pulled him into his mouth until he calmed down.

Mario: How are you going to help us, exactly?

Stuffwell: Surely by now, you should now that I am equippified with state-of-the-art navigational technology. I do not doubt your own abilities, but I am sure I can help you locate the Emerald in a shorter amount of time. May I examine the Emerald Radar for a moment?

Mario pulled out the Emerald Radar and showed it to Stuffwell.

Stuffwell: Ah hah! These readings indicate that the Emerald is currently residing inside the Treacherous Mansion. Fortunately, I possess a detailed map of the mansion, so it should not take very long to find it.

Sonic: So, all we really need to do is head on over to the mansion and start searching, right?

Stuffwell: Correct, although it is inadvisable to haphazardly rush towards the Treacherous Mansion. Not only are the ghosts more hostile now that the Dark Moon is missing, but the mansion itself sits right in the middle of a large ravine completely cut off from land. I propose that the most efficient way to the mansion is to have the Professor pixelate us there.

A hologram projection of the Professor appeared right above Stuffwell.

E. Gadd: I couldn't agree more, Stuffwell. I've already programmed the coordinates into the pixelator just outside the Bunker. You'll be just outside the mansion's door lickety-split!

Sonic: Wait, are you sure there's not a-

Again, Sonic was cut off when the red camera just outside the Bunker turned him and the others into blocks and sucked them in. They were spat out and reformed by another camera that was positioned by the front door into the Treacherous Mansion. All the heroes landed on a pile together once more, while Stuffwell landed right in front of them.

During the fall, Yoshi accidentally swallowed Luigi.

Shadow: The next time that quack professor pixelates us, I'll kill him!

Everyone got off of each other and Yoshi tried to squeeze Luigi out of him. Eventually, he managed to produce a large egg that hatched and revealed a dazed and saliva covered Luigi inside.

Luigi: Mamma Mia...

Stuffwell: Welcome, everyone, to the Treacherous Mansion.

Sonic and the others took a look around the exterior of the mansion.

Sonic: Yikes! You weren't kidding about this place being cut off from land. I have no idea how anyone would even get here.

Shadow: Right now, all that matters is finding that Chaos Emerald and getting out of here!

Stuffwell: I concur. With the ghosts back to being mischievous and hostile, there's no telling what may happen inside the mansion. Let us enter and proceed with the utmost caution. BACK TO ADVENTURE!

Yoshi picked up Luigi and put him on his back, then our heroes opened the door and took their first step inside the Treacherous Mansion.

* * *

 _Again, no fight scene, but this chapter has been going on for long enough already. Tomorrow, there_ may _be some action but I'm still working out the kinks of where this episode's going. Tell me what you think, I gleefully await feedback._


	15. The Boo King of Evershade Valley-Part 3

Our team stepped inside the front entrance of the mansion. A large set of stairs leading up sat in the middle of the room and between two gargoyles. There were two doors leading to the East and the West of the mansion respectively. Most curious of all though were six large red circular devices spread throughout the room.

Sonic: Ya know, for an abandoned old mansion, this place is surprisingly well-lit. Wait, what are those things?

Stuffwell: Those are portals the professor built throughout the mansion. They will allow us to go in and out of the exhibits more effectively.

Sonic stuck his hand in through one of the portals and saw it disappear in a vortex of green energy. Sonic pulled his hand out and examined it.

Sonic: Huh, neat. This should make finding that fifth Emerald a snap. But wait, did you say "exhibits"?

Stuffwell: Yes, the mansion used to be a museum, but then a large chasm began to appear around it and people were frightened off. The museum eventually closed down and later bought and remade into a mansion, but then the occupants all vanished and it was left here ever since.

Sonic: Geez, talk about a string of bad luck.

Stuffwell: I concur. But that was only scratching the surface of bad luck in this town. You see, roughly 100 years ago-

Shadow, having lost his patience, exploded with Chaos Energy, blasting the rest of the heroes away.

Shadow: Enough of the history lesson already! Just tell us where to find the next Chaos Emerald!

Stuffwell: Yes...*ahem*... my apologies, Master Shadow.

Stuffwell turned and saw Mario faced down on the ground with the others.

Stuffwell: Come now, Master Mario. Now is not the time to be taking a nap. Time is of the essence.

Mario got up and pulled out the Emerald Radar. But instead of showing the Emerald's location, all the screen picked up was static.

Stuffwell: Is there a problem, Master Mario?

Mario showed the Radar to Stuffwell.

Stuffwell: I was afraid of this. The powerful paranormal energies inside the mansion is interfering with the Radar's signal.

Sonic: *sigh* Well, that's just great. What are we supposed to do now?

Stuffwell: There is only one alternative. We split up into teams and search for the Emerald the old fashioned way.

Shadow: Heh. That's the best idea I've heard all day.

Shadow began walking off to the door to the East Gallery, but Sonic stopped him.

Sonic: Woah there, cowboy. Where do you think you're going?

Shadow: Looking for the Emerald, of course. Any excuse to get away from you idiots.

Sonic: No way, Shadow! We'll need to work together on this one. There's no "I" in team.

Shadow: Oh yeah? Well there's no "you" in team, either. Now, get out of my way. I don't need your help!

Shadow shoved Sonic out of the way and slammed the door to the East Gallery behind him.

Sonic: *sigh* He really needs to sort out that ego of his.

Sonic turned to Yoshi and Luigi.

Sonic: Hey, guys. I hate to ask this, but could you follow him? Just make sure he doesn't do anything reckless.

Yoshi gave Sonic a thumbs-up and followed after Shadow, with Luigi riding on top of him, still weary from just being hatched.

Sonic: Well guys, I guess that leaves us three to search in the other direction.

Stuffwell: Quite right. But before we begin, there is one more pressing matter I need to discuss with you. Even if I am highly intelligent, I am still, as you would call, a suitcase. So, if it is not of any inconvenience, would you permit me to store the emeralds you have acquired so far for safety purposes?

Sonic: Uh, sure. They'll be safer that way, I guess.

Stuffwell opened his lid and Sonic threw the four Chaos Emeralds he's collected so far into him. Stuffwell closed his lid and stood up.

Stuffwell: Most commendable. BACK TO ADVENTURE!

Stuffwell headed to the West Gallery. But before Sonic and Mario followed him, Sonic had an important question to ask.

Sonic: Does he always shout "BACK TO ADVENTURE" like that?

Mario: Mm-hmm.

Sonic and Mario followed after Stuffwell, not knowing that someone else was following them

* * *

Shadow had only investigated as far as the Jungle Exhibit before losing his patience.

Shadow: *growl* Where is that Chaos Emerald? This mansion is a complete waste of my time! I'd much rather be taking down Mecha Sonic right about now. I'm a warrior, not some hired help!

Shadow heard the door open behind him and responded immediately.

Shadow: Chaos Spear!

Yoshi and Luigi had barely managed to dodge Shadow's energy attack before it obliterated the door.

Shadow: Oh, it's just you two. Why are you guys following me?

Luigi: B-because Sonic a-a-asked us to?

Yoshi: You nearly killed us! How about you look before you fire next time?

Yoshi gave Shadow a hard glare for nearly blasting their heads off while Luigi was, right now, more scared of Shadow than of any ghost that could be in the mansion. Shadow looked at Yoshi's expression and countered it with annoyed apathy.

Shadow: You have only yourselves to blame for following me. Just be thankful I didn't use Chaos Blast, or you would've been vaporized.

Yoshi: Is that what you call an apology? The only reason we followed you is because Sonic thought you might need our help!

Shadow: Listen, you lizard freak! I don't care about what Sonic asked you to do. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. So do me a favor, and beat it, punk!

?: Nyahahaha!

Shadow: What was that?

?: Nyahahaha!

The laugh appeared to be coming from all over the exhibit. Suddenly, gates made out of purple energy popped up in front of all the doors, making Luigi jump and scream. All three of them stood back to back, keeping an eye out for whatever was in the room. Luigi was gripping the nozzle of the Poltergust 7000 for dear life. Then he saw something materialize right in front of him. It was a white spheroid with a psychotic open-mouthed grin full of razor sharp teeth. It had glowing purple tongue and a crown topped with a large grey jewel.

Shadow and Yoshi turned to Luigi's direction and saw the Boo behind it all.

Luigi: K-King Boo!

King Boo: Did ya miss me?

Luigi wasted no time turning on the Poltergust and trying to suck King Boo in. But something was wrong. It wasn't working on King Boo. He wasn't even scared of it. Instead, King Boo wrapped his mouth around the nozzle and blow, blow, blow until...

BOOM!

The Poltergust 7000 exploded, sending Luigi and Shadow and Yoshi flying in opposite directions.

King Boo floated over Luigi and laughed.

King Boo: Oh, you have no idea how much I wanted to do that! Do you know what's more fun than being locked up in a painting? I'll tell you! IT'S BEING LOCKED UP IN A VACUUM CLEANER! Well guess what? I got out of that too. And this time, you, that brother of yours and that nitwit professor is never going to get out of here alive!

Shadow got up and noticed something peculiar about King Boo's crown.

Shadow: That gem... It's the Chaos Emerald!

King Boo: Chaos Emerald? I like the sound of that. You're probably wondering how I got this beauty. You see, what happened was-

Shadow lunged towards King Boo and tried to grab the Emerald off the crown. But King Boo just blew a bubble and Shadow got trapped inside it. He tried to punch his way out but it didn't work.

King Boo: Now hasn't anyone ever taught you manners? Don't interrupt people when they're telling a story!

King Boo smacked the bubble and it collided with Yoshi, trapping him in it too. The bubble continued to bounce around the exhibit until it ended up smashing into and absorbing Luigi. The bubble stopped, with all three of them trapped inside it, very dizzy from the ordeal.

King Boo: As I was saying, it all started about a week ago...

* * *

I was spending my time as I normally did. Cramped inside the poltergust, thinking up new and inventive ways to get revenge on you and that professor, when all of a sudden something crashed into the poltergust with so much force, it broke it! I got out of that accursed machine and saw what did it.

The new jewel for my crown not only helped me escape, it bolstered my powers higher than I could even imagine. After terrifying that new pooch of yours and taking a detour along the way (you'll find out more about that very soon) I came back here to Evershade Valley and took back the throne YOU stole from me!

I put up this force field after a few intruders started sticking their noses where they don't belong instead of minding their own business. But I knew that you two and that professor would find a way in. I couldn't find him at the bunker when I busted out my servants, but if you're here, that must mean he's close. And I can finally destroy all three of you and rule the world!

* * *

Shadow: Chaos Control!

Shadow and the others appeared outside of the bubble and landed in the floor.

Shadow: I don't care about your revenge or your life story. Just hand over the Chaos Emerald or I'll kill you a second time!

King Boo: Bwahahahahaha! That Poltergust was your best chance of beating me and it's nothing but scrap now! I'm unstoppable! But if you really want to fight me for it, allow me to call a few friends first.

King Boo whistled and out of the walls appeared dozens of cackling, grinning Boos. Luigi watched in terror as more Boos appeared out of the walls. Until he couldn't take it any more and ran towards the portal screaming.

Yoshi: Luigi!

King Boo: Bwahahahaha! What a chicken. I knew that without the poltergust he can't do anything except cry and run for his brother. Boos, after him! Bring him to the painting. I'll take care of these two myself!

The boos flew into the portal after Luigi. While King Boo looked at Yoshi and Shadow with a psychotic grin.

Shadow: It doesn't matter if your army stayed or left. All that coward was good for was holding me back. I'll destroy you and take that Emerald from you, personally. You shall witness the power of my world's Ultimate Life Form!

King Boo: But this isn't your world, pal.

All of a sudden the room started turning itself upside-down and Shadow and Yoshi fell into a dark abyss. They landed on a hard floor. They looked around themselves and realized that they weren't in the mansion anymore. Wherever they were, there was nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. Suddenly, the floor started shaking and King Boo rose in front of them, at least five times bigger than he was originally.

King Boo: It's mine!

* * *

Mario, Sonic and Stuffwell were going down the West Gallery when they saw something coming at them.

Stuffwell: A ghost!

It was a green ghost with white blank eyes.

Sonic: I never fought a ghost before. This should be interesting.

But instead of attacking them, the ghost flew straight through them into the ground.

Sonic: Or not.

All of a sudden, more ghosts started to appear out of the ceiling. All of them flew straight towards the ground, seemingly not noticing our heroes.

Sonic: Is that a thing with ghosts here?

Stuffwell: I'm afraid that is highly unlikely. It would appear as if they were running from something.

Sonic: Like they were afraid? What would a ghost be afraid of?

Stuffwell:The only thing that comes to mind is the Professor's Poltergust. But since we've all witnessed Luigi heading towards the East Gallery, I fail to see how it could've made it upstairs.

A large stomping noise was heard overhead. Dust fell from the ceiling.

Sonic: Did you hear that?

Stuffwell: Yes, I have. Whatever it was, I'm not picking it up on my Parascope. Meaning that it is highly unlikely to be a ghost.

Sonic: Whatever it is, let's be careful and get ready for anything.

Stuffwell: I agree. Let us continue our search for the Emerald and watch out for what is scaring all these ghosts. BACK TO AD-

Sonic: I'm sorry, but can you please stop saying that?

Stuffwell: Oh, my apologies, Master Sonic. Umm... Let's go!

Stuffwell and Sonic went further down the gallery, but Mario stayed behind. He had a bad feeling about the thing up there. He looked up to the ceiling, at the spot where the sound came from. The same spot that Sonic and Stuffwell were just about to walk under. Suddenly, something smashed through the ceiling. It was blue, metal and turned from a fist into a gun.

Mario: Oh no!

Mario pushed Sonic and Stuffwell out of the way, right before a huge energy beam came down and almost obliterated them. Mario and Sonic turned to see what was responsible for that. Both were horrified when, out of the smoke came the unmistakable metal visage of Mecha Sonic!

Mecha Sonic flew straight towards Mario, punching him so hard, it sent him through the door and into the Dark Age Exhibit. Mecha Sonic turned his arm into a gun and pointed behind him at Sonic.

Sonic leapt and ran all around the gallery, barely dodging the hurricane of bullets Mecha blasted his way. He ran up walls and bounced off the ceiling. Mecha Sonic's attack took out the gargoyle and suits of armor, but they couldn't even touch the Blue Blur.

Mecha Sonic changed tactics, turning the gun on his arm into a missile launcher.

Mecha Sonic: DIE!

Two missiles fired out, aimed directly at Sonic. Sonic jumped off the far wall and avoided contact with them. However, while he was in mid-air, Sonic couldn't outrun the ensuing explosion. The blast shot Sonic to the air, but Sonic managed to land right behind Mecha Sonic. Sonic jumped and delivered a kick to his robotic double, but Mecha Sonic blocked it with his arm.

Sonic leaped back and took a running start towards Mecha Sonic, delivering blow after blow with none of them seeming to have any effect. Mecha Sonic grabbed Sonic and slammed him into the ground. He threw him aside into the Dark Age Exhibit and he landed on his back.

Mecha Sonic stepped inside the exhibit to continue pummeling Sonic. But then Mario came from the side and tried to ambush him with his hammer. Mecha Sonic warped out of the way and Mario ended up hitting the ground with enough force, it sent him into the Ceremonial Chambers below. Mecha Sonic appeared behind him and Mario swung and miss a second time.

While Mario was keeping Mecha Sonic busy, Sonic jumped down the hole and tried to attack Mecha Sonic again. Only to be swatted away. Mario continued to try to hammer Mecha Sonic, while Sonic started to prepare his Light Speed Dash.

The next swing of Mario's hammer was it's last, as when it finally connected to Mecha Sonic, it snapped off. Mecha Sonic grabbed Mario by the throat and punched him so hard, he flew into the Throne Room. Mecha Sonic flew after him, but Sonic had just finished charging his Light Dash.

Sonic: Ready...Go!

Sonic crashed into Mecha at blazing speeds, slamming him into the far wall. Sonic leapt back and prepared to charge another Light Dash. But this Mecha Sonic was prepared for it and started copying Sonic's move. Both combatants slammed into each other at light speed, faster than the human eye could see. From Mario's point of view, all he could see were two blurs crashing into each other that he had to run away from just so he would n't get crushed. But from Sonic and Mecha Sonic's points of view, the two of them were going at it with everything they had.

Sadly, Mecha Sonic had more to give than just speed. He grabbed Sonic and threw him up the ceiling and then kicked him into Throne Room. Sonic crashed into a wall and as he tried to get out, Mecha Sonic kicked him back in and grabbed his throat.

Mecha Sonic: You will pay dearly for humiliating me on that puny island I destroyed. Now tell me! Where are my Chaos Emeralds?

Sonic: Ughh...bite...my...spiny...blue...butt. Chrome Dome!

Mecha Sonic: Bah! Why do I bother wasting my time with you, Sonic? These underground caves will become your grave!

Mecha Sonic turned his free hand into a blaster and was ready to blow Sonic's head off. But then Mario appeared and leapt as high as he could before landing on Mecha Sonic he grabbed Sonic and tried to run away, but something happened. He stepped on the rug in the middle of the room, then suddenly started to sink into it. Mario let out a confused scream as he, Sonic and the rug fell into the painting hiding under it.

* * *

 _Sorry this took so long. I wish I could say I had more important stuff to do, but the truth is I got distracted with a beta for a new game coming up._

 _Fortunately, the creator took down the beta and I was able to focus back on my work._

 _Again, I am very sorry to have kept you waiting for no good reason, I promise it won't happen again._

 _I'll also try to finish this episode up by tomorrow. This was supposed to replace the longest one yet, so it makes sense this would be the longest episode I've written yet. I think when I've gone through all the original episodes, I'll keep the new ones nice and short._

 _I just hope I can still be able to match the vision and creativity the original author had. Until then, I hope you keep reading and enjoying what you read. Bye!_


	16. The Boo King of Evershade Valley-Part 4

Yoshi and Shadow got into position for a fight with King Boo. But even if they had a powerful enough Poltergust, nothing could've prepared them for what to come. Instead of making a move, King Boo just floated there as bombs started to rain from the sky onto the battlefield. Shadow and Yoshi barely managed to avoid the bombs, but the explosions were another story. Try as they might, there were just too many bombs going off all at once for them to have no effect. And Shadow and Yoshi felt that effect until they actually started jumping off the bombs themselves before they hit the ground.

They took this opportunity to attack King Boo as he floated in front of them.

Shadow: Chaos Spear!

Yoshi: Yoshi Tongue!

Shadow threw a bolt of Chaos energy at King Boo while Yoshi grabbed one of the bombs with his tongue and tried to throw it at him. But instead of actually harming King Boo, the Chaos Spear phased harmlessly through him and when Yoshi tried to let the bomb go, he found that he couldn't for some reason.

Yoshi's tongue retracted back into his mouth with the bomb in tow, smacking into the dinosaur and exploding in his face. Whereas Shadow ended up being struck from behind with his own Chaos Spear. Both fighters were hit with enough force to send them out of bounds of the small space in this dimension and into the darkness below. But instead they hit what appeared to be invisible walls surrounding them and got electrocuted.

Shadow: Hnnngh!

Yoshi: Waaaaa!

Shadow and Yoshi fell to the floor with a thud. The bombs have stopped raining and the two of them looked up to see King Boo's laughing face.

King Boo: Mwahahahaha!

Shadow: That..that was my Chaos Spear attack. How did you...?

King Boo: I told you. This is my world. Where I make the rules! With this Chaos Emerald, my powers have gone from "Master of Illusions" to "Master of Reality Itself!" There isn't a single thing you can do to stop me!

Shadow: Heh heh.

King Boo: What's so funny?

Shadow: That's pretty big talk for someone who stays in the sidelines and uses parlor tricks to fight his battles. If you're really as powerful as you say you are, then get down here and fight me like a man!

King Boo just looked at Shadow, shocked and a little annoyed by his bravado. Then his face twisted into a large toothy grin.

King Boo: If you insist!

King Boo spun around and disappeared in a twirl of dark energy. Another twirl appeared in the center of the ring, smaller than the other one. King Boo appeared out of the darkness, but he wasn't the same as before. Instead, his body was transformed into that of a professional boxer, complete with six-pack abs, biceps, even purple shorts and boxing gloves. The only thing resembling King Boo was his completely white complexion, his round head complete with sharp teeth and glowing eyes and his crown where the Chaos Emerald sat.

King Boo: I'll fight you like a man alright! Now, show me what you got!

Shadow and Yoshi both charged straight at King Boo and delivered a flying kick. But King Boo just blocked them with his gloved hands and grabbed their feet. He started spinning around faster and faster until he let go, sending them careening back to the invisible walls where they got electrocuted a second time. King Boo then split into two and both of them charged into a different opponent.

Shadow snapped out of it quick enough to use Chaos Control to slow time down just as his King Boo came within mere feet of him. Shadow jumped and tried to grab the Chaos Emerald from his head, but he passed through him.

King Boo: Uh-uh-uh!

Shadow: What!?

King Boo turned himself around and floated facing Shadow even though Chaos Control was still in effect.

King Boo: The only one who can touch this crown, is the King wearing it!

Shadow: Your reign ends here! Chaos Spear!

This time the Chaos Spear struck King Boo, detonating and sending him flying off the edge screaming all the way down.

Shadow was understandably confused, the wall should've been there to fry him. Shadow stepped closer to investigate. But as he stood near the edge, a gloved fist forced its way through the floor under him. Shadow had hardly any time to react as the hand grabbed his leg and forced him under. King Boo threw him to the far side of the ring and Shadow landed on his feet.

Shadow: How the-?

King Boo: It was getting crowded up there. Well, are you going to fight me or not?

Shadow charged at King Boo with a charged fist, but King Boo teleported out of the way. The Chaos Control wore off and back on the topside of the ring, Yoshi took the full brunt of his King Boo's attack, smacking him back into the wall.

Yoshi tried to trip him with a tail sweep, but it just phased through his legs as if they weren't there. Realizing he couldn't hurt King Boo, Yoshi went on the defensive. He leapt to the other side of the ring just as King Boo tried to punch him and hid himself inside a giant egg. Taking a page out of Sonic's notebook, Yoshi began to spin around in his egg, performing his own spin dash charging at King Boo. The egg passed harmlessly threw him as well and hit the wall. Fortunately, the eggs shell kept him from being shocked. Unfortunately, the walls have suddenly become bouncy as Yoshi bounced from one wall to the next, smacking him around in side his egg.

King Boo: While this is fun to watch, I have a plumber to torture. So I'm ending this, right now!

King Boo teleported in the egg's path and punched it, sending it in the opposite direction. He later teleported again and hit the egg once more. On this went until King Boo smacked the egg into the floor and the tile beneath him opened up to reveal a pool of boiling water. Yoshi's egg shell splashed in it and King Boo laughed as the tile closed shut.

King Boo: I just love boiled eggs.

Back to Shadow, the black hedgehog still couldn't lay a hand on his King Boo as he just kept teleporting all over the ring.

Shadow: Stand still!

King Boo: Alright.

King Boo stood at the center of the ring, completely stationary with his arms crossed.

King Boo: Hit me with your best shot!

Shadow rushed towards King Boo, stopping just in front of him to perform a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, but the kick just passed through him. Undaunted, Shadow kicked and punched various parts of King Boo's new body before trying to just grab the Emerald off his head. But even that proved to be intangible.

King Boo: I told you. No one but the King touches the crown!

Shadow tried to kick him again, but his feet wouldn't move. He looked down and saw what appeared to be glue all over the tile under him.

King Boo: My turn!

King Boo delivered a flurry of fists, but Shadow put his arms up and blocked each one of them. That is until the other King Boo from topside appeared behind Shadow and sucker punched him. With both King Boos attacking him from both sides, Shadow didn't stood a chance. All he could do was stand on his feet as both King Boo's wailed on him. They put their fists in the air and slammed Shadow through the tile under him. Shadow collided with Yoshi's egg shell and the both of them escaped the boiling water due to Shadow's momentum rocketing out of the tile Yoshi fell in and continuing into the darkness they fell from.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luigi teleported to the Front Entrance and let out a sigh of relief as he believed he was far away from King Boo and his army. While he was right about King Boo, his army was another story. Luigi screamed as dozens of cackling Boos appeared out of the portal behind him. Without a Poltergust, all Luigi could do was try to get out as fast as possible. But every time he reached a door or a portal, a Boo appeared and blocked him with a toothy grin and a nasty laugh.

The Boos circled around Luigi. Luigi was helpless as one of the Boos grabbed him and floated him downwards. But instead of taking him to the Ceremonial Chamber, the Boo took him to the Underground Lab, where it proceeded to stop Luigi's screaming by shoving something in his mouth. Whatever it was, it transformed Luigi into a Boo as well, making him scream some more.

Boo: Would you please stop screaming?!

Luigi managed to calm down enough to actually get a good look at this Boo. Instead of having beady eyes and a large mouth full of teeth, this Boo's eyes were bigger and had a smaller mouth than the other Boos with a single fang poking out the bottom lip. It also had a miner's helmet on with a tuff of whiteness poking out behind it like a ponytail.

Boo: Thank you, Luigi. Now we haven't officially met yet, but your brother's told me all about you. And I gotta say, Mario was kinda underselling it when he said you were just "kind of" a wimp.

Luigi: Hey!

Boo: Well anyway, I think it's about time I introduced myself. I'm Goombella. I'm a student at the University of Goom and the assistant of Professor Frankly. And I need your help to save a friend of mine.

* * *

Shadow and Yoshi landed on the bottom floor of the Jungle Exhibit on top of each other. Both heroes were on the cusp of losing consciousness. King Boo floated from the ceiling, back to his original form and laughing maniacally.

King Boo: I told you I was unstoppable. Thanks for giving me the chance to show off, but this little dance had gone on long enough.

The Chaos Emerald on King Boo's head began charging with energy.

King Boo: So long, fools! I look forward to having you serve me in the afterlife!

Before King Boo could deliver the coup de grace, an explosion was heard from the other side of the mansion.

King Boo: What was that? It's probably nothing. Now, where were we?

King Boo charged up the Emerald again only to be interrupted by another, larger explosion.

King Boo: What the heck is going on there?

King Boo took a look at Shadow and Yoshi's crumpled forms and figured they weren't going anywhere.

King Boo: You two stay put now. I'll be back as soon as I figure out what's going on at my mansion.

King Boo floated away, leaving Shadow and Yoshi behind to kill later. But the two of them weren't done yet. Shadow got up and tried to chase after King Boo.

Shadow: Get...back here...you..bastard!

But before Shadow could chase after him, Yoshi stuck his tongue on him and pulled him into his mouth. Yoshi kept his mouth shut as Shadow tried to punch his way out. Yoshi ran away from King Boo into the Grand East.

* * *

When Mario opened his eyes, he saw that he was underwater, somehow. Sonic was there with him, but something didn't seem right about him. He was shorter, rounder and a bit less detailed. And his fur was almost indistinguishable from the water surrounding them.

While a bit confused, Mario was a fine swimmer and wasn't panicked that much. Sonic on other hand, had no idea how to swim and couldn't do anything but flail his arms as he sank like a rock. Luckily, Mario grabbed Sonic and swam them up to the surface and onto dry land.

Sonic: Oh, man! That was a close one. I felt sure my goose was cooked that time. Thanks for saving me, Mario.

Sonic looked at Mario for the first time in this world. Mario was so pixel-y, Sonic couldn't even see the front of his face.

Sonic: Errr...Wow. Mario, you're looking a little...retro at the moment.

Mario: So are you!

Sonic: What do you mean "so do you"?

Sonic looked at himself for the first time in this world.

Sonic: What the heck? And I've put on some weight too. Man, this really sucks.

It wasn't just Sonic and Mario. Everything about this world looked like a level out of a really old video game.

Sonic: What is this place anyways? It seems so...primitive. And how did we get here in the first place?

Mario explained what happened after their fight with Mecha Sonic.

Sonic: So you stepped on a rug and it turned out it was covering something that sent us to this crazy place?

Mario: Mm-hmm.

Sonic: In that case, we must be in some weird alternate dimension or something. Now, the question is, how do we get out of here?

Mario: Well, we're not going to find out by standing around all day. Let's a-go!

Mario and Sonic took off, looking for anything that might lead to a way out. After much traveling, the two of them stopped at a pit and looked into the distance, not seeing much for miles.

Sonic: Man, this place goes on forever! No sign of an exit, either.

Sonic looked down the pit but saw only blackness.

Sonic: Nope. Nothing down there. Let's keep moving.

?: Oh! What's this? It appears I have visitors!

Sonic and Mario turned around and saw a Koopa on all fours with a mustache and a pith helmet.

?: I say, old chaps, would you two happen to be the rescue party sent by Professor Frankly?

Both Mario and Sonic had no idea what he meant and it showed on their faces. Well, it showed as much as it could when their faces were in 8-bit.

?: Or did you two fall into a painting on the floor of the ceremonial chamber under the treacherous mansion?

Sonic: Uhmm... I think the second one is slightly more accurate.

?: Oh, confound it! I was really hoping I would finally be free of the infernal clutches of this painting and from having to crawl to move! Oh, woe is me.

Sonic: Woah, woah! Hold on a sec! Just who are you anyway?

?: Me? Dear boy, I'm the world-renowned archaeologist, Professor Kolorado! Don't tell me you've never even heard of me, eh?

Sonic: Can't say I have. Then again, I haven't been in the Mushroom Kingdom for very long.

Mario: Wait a minute. Professor Kolorado? It's-a me, Mario!

Kolorado: Well I'll be! Mario! I didn't recognize you there. How have you been, old bean?

Mario: How did you get here?

Kolorado: Yes, around three days ago, I decided to pay my old mentor, Professor Frankly, a visit at Rogueport. He was investigating a break in at his lab where he studied artifacts and kept notebooks containing his research and discovered that one notebook concerning the Pipe Maze had gone missing. Readings from the Parascope that Professor Frankly borrowed from a friend of his, revealed the culprit to be of ghostly origin.

Sonic: This friend of the professor, his name wouldn't happen to be Elvin Gadd, is it?

Kolorado: My, how did you know, old boy?

Sonic: Let's just say it's a small world after all. Please, continue.

Kolorado: Well, I was more than happy to help my mentor catch that rapscallion who plundered his work. But since Kooper was busy with exams at the time, I was without a trusty assistant.

* * *

Goombella: So Professor Frankly recommended me to take his place and I was happy to oblige. Wasting no time trying to catch that dirty thief, we followed Professor Gadd's Parascope here to Evershade Valley. It makes sense that since the creep was a ghost he'd try to hide here. But what we weren't expecting was seeing the Dark Moon blown to pieces by a beam of energy.

All of a sudden, the ghosts swarmed around us. They grabbed us and carried us to the mansion.

* * *

There we had the most unpleasant experience of meeting King Boo face-to-face. It turns out that he was the thief and that the reason he raided Professor Frankly's lab was that he hoped to find something that might prevent his subjects from being defeated by the Professor's various Poltergusts. But instead, he found the notebook containing information about the Pipe Maze, particularly about a secret pipe which led to an alternate dimension called "the Minus World"!

Sonic: The Minus World? What's that?

Kolorado: King Boo didn't went into specifics. All he told us was how he found that secret pipe using the professor's notes and harnessed the innate negative energy of the dimension to create a painting that is supposedly in the exact likeness of the Minus World. Including how that if one were to ever fall into the painting, we would be trapped forever.

* * *

Goombella: That sleazeball was just about to dump us in that painting but then something totally crazy happened! Out of nowhere this robot busted through the ceiling and told King Boo to hand over something called a Chaos Emerald.

Luigi: Uh... What did this robot look like?

Goombella: Let's see... It was kinda tall, blue, spiky head-

Luigi: *sobs* Oh ho ho hoooo! Oh noooo!

Goombella: What's wrong?

Luigi: We have to get out of here! If he's here, he'll kill us all! Even if we're all already dead!

Goombella: Calm down, Green 'Stache! After he showed up, King Boo and that metal monster tried to take each other out.

* * *

Kolorado: During the madness, the ghost holding me up dropped me into this accursed painting and I've been trapped here ever since.

* * *

Goombella: But I managed to escape and get out of the room. A true archaeologist is always prepared so we packed some Boo 'Shrooms for the trips. I used one to try to fly out of the Valley and find some help. But all of a sudden a beam of creepy purple energy shot out of the mansion. You saw the force field outside? That's what made it. I checked back at the Chamber to see what happened. I figured since I was a Boo now, they wouldn't suspect anything. When I got there, I saw King Boo ordering the robot to protect his piece of the Dark Moon. Then some giant ghost popped out of him and bowed his head before going back in.

Luigi: That's a Possessor. They're the most powerful ghosts in Evershade Valley and can take control of anything or anyone. Which means that not only does King Boo now have the power to blow up mountains with his mind, but now he has an unstoppable killing machine obeying his every whim. Oh, now we reaallly need to get out of here!

Goombella: Not until we fix the Dark Moon and rescue Kolorado! During my time trapped here, I managed to find the other five pieces and scrub that icky black energy stuff off of them.

Goombella opened a drawer and showed five large glowing rocks.

Goombella: Unfortunately, I couldn't get the last one because King Boo gave the ghost possessing that robot strict orders not to hand it over to anybody.

Goombella reached behind her and pulled out a small pocket watch.

Goombella: I also found this. It belonged to the Professor. He said it was very important.

* * *

Sonic: How important could a pocket watch be?

Kolorado: It's no ordinary pocket watch, my boy. It is, in fact, a magical pocket watch. My great-great-grandkoopa, Professor Kansas, found it in an expedition in Star Haven. It has been passed down my family for generations and it hasn't broken once.

Sonic: Seriously? That thing must be, like, really old. How did it keep ticking after so many years?

Kolorado: My father said that it's powered by a self-sufficient battery of positive energy. It never runs out of power and it will never break. A shame I dropped it after being snatched by those poor ghosts under King Boo's control. With its positive energy, we could've cancelled out the negative energy of this place and escape. But alas, without it, I'm afraid escape is impossible. I've searched this wretched place from top to bottom, but there was nothing even remotely indicating an exit. I did manage to locate a pipe underwater though, but all it did was send me to the beginning of this painting. I've managed to keep myself relatively comfortable, thanks to rations and survival training. But I'm afraid if we don't leave soon, we'll surely starve.

* * *

Goombella: I doubt it's going to be very useful, but it means a lot to the Professor. So I want you to have it, for safe keeping. I'll admit, after meeting you for the first time, I wouldn't exactly call you "manly". But if Mario has faith in you, than I do too.

Goombella hands the pocket watch to Luigi, who hides it under his cap.

Goombella: Now all we have to do is find Mario and the rest of your friends, and we can take down that over-puffed marshmallow and his twisted tin can!

The idea of having to fight Mecha Sonic again terrified Luigi so much, he actually covered up his eyes and turned invisible, like an actual Boo.

Goombella; Oh, come on, you big baby! How scary can they be?

A loud noise rocked the entire mansion, including the underground lab.

Goombella: What the heck was that?!

* * *

 _That my dear, is the answer to a question you never should've asked. This episode is apparently taking way longer than I thought it would, and this was just exposition! Unless the King Boo fight was cool. Maybe, I'll finish this by tomorrow but now, it's safe to say I can't keep a promise about anything. See ya soon._


	17. The Boo King of Evershade Valley-Part 5

Mecha Sonic dug himself out of the floor using an energy blast and unbridled fury.

Mecha Sonic: Where are you!? Show yourself!

He searched the whole room but couldn't find Mario or Sonic anywhere. Mecha Sonic let out a yell of frustration as he took his rage out by destroying the suits of armor in the room.

That's when King Boo arrived.

King Boo: What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be guarding the piece of the Dark Moon, not trashing my mansion!

Mecha Sonic pulled the Dark Moon piece out of his storage compartment.

Mecha Sonic: Oh, you mean this rock right here? Funny thing about that, your Highness. It turns out that when a corporeal object holds onto one of these Dark Moon fragments, it allows them to physically interact with ghosts. Meaning...

Mecha Sonic curled up in a ball and took off like a bullet. He smashed King Boo in the face as hard as he could, sending him flying into the far chamber.

King Boo: What the-? How dare you strike your King! Bow down and beg for forgiveness!

Mecha Sonic: I bow to no one! And you will pay dearly for thinking that you could control me! After I take what is rightfully mine, I'll use it to beat you into a puddle of goo!

King Boo: What's rightfully yours? You must be talking about my new crown. Well, newsflash pal! No one is taking this away from me. Not that plumber, not that emo freak, and especially not you.

Mecha Sonic: I hope your first death was painless, because it won't be this time!

Mecha Sonic charged forward and knocked King Boo into the ceiling. King Boo phased through while Mecha Sonic smashed his way past in order to catch him.

Meanwhile, back at the chamber, hiding in the corner was a mechanical suitcase who had seen everything that went on in this room.

Stuffwell: My goodness! This is terrible! I...I must find Master Luigi and the others!

Stuffwell runs to tell the others what has happened.

* * *

King Boo didn't stop flying until he ended up on the roof of the mansion. There, he covered the whole floor with goo. When Mecha Sonic smashed through the ceiling, he found himself trapped in a gelatinous purple substance.

Mecha Sonic: Chaos Blast!

The Chaos Blast not only evaporated the substance off him, it destroyed the entire roof of the mansion and rocked it to its very foundation. King Boo however was shocked but not hurt. Mecha Sonic flew straight up at him. King Boo spat out blue fireballs trying to stop him, but Mecha Sonic just dodged out of their way until he was close enough to King Boo to punch him in the face.

Mecha Sonic continued this assault until King Boo teleported away back to the mansion and used telekinesis to lift the debris and use it to create a tornado, trapping Mecha Sonic inside its vortex, where the tornado started shooting at him with busted shingles and broken furniture.

Mecha Sonic charged the energy cannon in his chest and started firing beams of energy at the tornado, spinning around until the whole thing was vaporized. Mecha Sonic charged towards King Boo and this time he charged towards him, releasing a shock wave when these two collided.

The two of them flew back and Mecha Sonic charged up for a Spin Dash. King Boo decided to mimic Mecha Sonic and started spinning around too. The two villains charged at each other at the same time. But just before they collided, King Boo stopped and pulled out a baseball bat made out of dark energy and whacked Mecha Sonic with it up to the sky and into the forcefield, where Mech Sonic received an electric shock.

But instead of hurting Mecha Sonic, he used it power himself up even more. Mecha Sonic separated himself from the force field and flew down at King Boo faster than before. He hit him with a hammer kick, sending King Boo back down, but King Boo just teleported and appeared right behind Mecha Sonic, using his own momentum to slam into him.

Mecha Sonic stopped himself and turned to face King Boo. He turned his free hand into a missile launcher and fired two missiles at King Boo. King Boo teleported away and appeared behind Mecha Sonic. And in front of him. And to his left. King Boo's were appearing all around Mecha Sonic, laughing maniacally as they were sure he couldn't beat an army

Mecha Sonic turned his arm from a rocket launcher into a gun. What these clones didn't know was that Mecha Sonic _is_ an army.

* * *

Goombella and Luigi heard the noise and floated up to see what it was. They both poked their heads out of the second floor and saw King Boo and Mecha Sonic facing each other off.

Goombella: Huh? I thought that bucket of sugar honey iced tea had that killer robot on a leash.

Luigi: I guess he got out. Though I don't know if that's better or worse. Let's just get out of here and hide until they go away.

Goombella: But look!

Goombella pointed at Mecha Sonic, who was glowing with a strange purple hue.

Goombella: That bucket of bolts over there must have the last piece of the Dark Moon! If we can get it, we can save the town!

Luigi: We can't just walk up to him and ask him for it! He'll kill us both right away!

Goombela: Then we just need to take it without him noticing. We're Boos now, so all we'd have to do is turn invisible, sneak behind him, and he'll never be the wiser.

Luigi: Still, that'll be pretty hard to do while King Boo and Mecha Sonic are trying to kill each other.

Goombella: Then we'll do it after the fight. To be honest, I really want to watch those two creeps pound each other until there's nothing left. So how about we both sit back and enjoy the show?

Goombella and Luigi turned invisible and kept their eyes out waiting for the fight to be over.

* * *

Yoshi was hiding out in a sarcophagus in the Ancient Egyptian Exhibit, filled with sand, mummies and creepy giant idols. Knowing that Shadow would run off and do something stupid, Yoshi had tried to keep him in his mouth this whole time. But Shadow continued to thrash around in there and Yoshi was at his limit. He spit Shadow out of his mouth and into the sand on the floor. Shadow got up and shaked the sand out of his hair.

Shadow: What the hell did you think you were doing, you mutated iguana!? I could've taken that fifth Chaos Emerald and gotten out of here by now!

Yoshi: I don't know who you were fighting, but to me, it looks like King Boo would've crushed you like a bug!

Shadow: That floating cotton ball only got lucky, it won't happen again.

Yoshi: Lucky? We're lucky to still be alive! If King Boo hadn't decided that we weren't worth his time, he would've turned us into ash!

Shadow: You underestimate me.

Yoshi: No, you underestimate everyone else! Because all you care about is finding the Emeralds, beating up Mecha Sonic and ignoring everyone who's trying to help you!

Shadow rolled his eyes and made his way towards the exit.

Yoshi: Where do you think you're going?

Shadow: What we came here to do; finding that Emerald and using it to rearrange King Boo's teeth.

Yoshi ran towards the only door in the room and blocked it from Shadow.

Yoshi: As frustrating as you are, I promised Sonic to stop you from doing anything reckless.

Shadow: I don't care what promise you made or what Sonic asked you to do. Get out of my way, now!

Yoshi: No! I'm not going to let you kill yourself just to prove how tough you are. If you want to go through this door, you'll have to go through me first!

Shadow: That can be arranged.

Both of them were ready to knock each other out. But before the first blow, the door opened behind Yoshi. Yoshi and Shadow turned and saw Stuffwell.

Stuffwell: Oh, thank goodness I have found you! I am requesting immediate backup! This is an emergency! Wait, where is Master Luigi?

Shadow: Never mind that coward. He's probably hiding in a closet somewhere waiting for us to finish the job. Now what do you want?

Stuffwell: Mario and Sonic are in a troubling situation! We must go to their aid posthaste!

Shadow: *hmph* So what? If Sonic's in danger, let him get out of it himself.

Stuffwell: We must not be nonchalant! A robotic doppelganger of Sonic destructified the ceiling above us and-

Shadow: Robotic doppelganger? MECHA SONIC!

Shadow grabbed Stuffwell by the handle and lifted him up so that they were face to face.

Shadow: Spill it! Where is Mecha Sonic!

Stuffwell: But...But Masters Mario and-

Shadow: TELL ME!

Stuffwell: All right, all right! I will inform you! There is no necessity for violence. Please put me down gently first.

Shadow complied and set Stuffwell down.

Stuffwell: Much obliged, Master Shadow. I believe Mecha Sonic is currently battling King Boo over the roof of the mansion. Please, follow me.

Stuffwell took the lead as three of them headed towards the Inner Courtyard to take the stairs. All three of them were shocked as they stepped inside and saw the ceiling was completely missing. Up in the night sky, they saw Mecha Sonic taking on clones of King Boo.

Shadow: Mecha Sonic!

Shadow ran up the steps and into the terrace to get a closer look. Yoshi and Stuffwell were right behind him. All three of them looked up as Mecha Sonic destroyed the fake King Boos one by one. Shadow was ready to warp there and join the fight when...

Luigi: Guys?

Shadow, Yoshi and Stuffwell looked back down in front of them and saw two Boos appear before their very eyes.

Shadow: Chaos-

Luigi: Wait wait wait! I's a-me, Luigi.

Stuffwell: Master Luigi? Good heavens, what have they done to you?

Shadow: Let me guess, you saw your own shadow and died of a heart attack.

Goombella: Luigi, would you mind introducing me to your friends? And whatever that spiky thing is?

Stuffwell: My apologies, Miss. I am Stuffwell. And these two are Masters Yoshi and Shadow.

Goombella: Nice to meet you I'm Goombella. I met Luigi earlier and gave him a Boo 'Shroom so that we could blend in.

Luigi: Mm-hmm. That's why I'm a Boo now. But the effects should wear off.

Shadow: Not unless the Mushroom was simply poisonous.

Luigi had a look of dread on his face and turned to Goombella.

Goombella: It wasn't poisonous, you big baby! And you, where do you get off scaring your friends like that?

Shadow: He's no friend of mine. He's just here so that I could better understand this world and get closer to getting the seven Chaos Emeralds and destroying Mecha Sonic. Both of which can be done right now as soon as I get up there.

Goombella: And how exactly do you think that's gonna work, Mr. Tough Guy?

Shadow: Simple, I'll warp over there using Chaos Control and then I'll-

Stuffwell: Um, Master Shadow?

Shadow: What is it?

Stuffwell: I feel inclined to inform you that both King Boo and Mecha Sonic have disappeared.

Shadow: WHAT!?

Shadow looked up and saw nothing but the purple hue of the force field above them.

Shadow: Where are they?!

Stuffwell: Please calm down, Master Shadow. My built-in Parascope indicates that King Boo is heading downwards into the basement. I'd suspect Mecha Sonic is not too far behind. If you would just-

Shadow: Chaos Control!

Shadow disappeared leaving everyone behind.

Stuffwell: Or not.

Goombella: Wow, he's the life of the party. Said no one ever.

* * *

Mario was grabbing Sonic and swimming them out of the digital water and on to dry land. Again.

Sonic: *sigh* This does not bode well.

Kolorado: Just give it up son. This is your fifth time going through that pipe and appearing at the beginning of this painting. Let's face it. There is no way out of this place.

Sonic: I can't believe you would truly think that! Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it! There's gotta be a way out of here. There's just gotta.

* * *

During the fight, King Boo realized he couldn't beat Mecha Sonic. Despite all the amazing powers the Chaos Emerald had given him, Mecha Sonic was more than tough enough to survive anything King Boo could throw at him and had more than enough weapons built into himself to destroy anything that he couldn't.

So he had an idea.

King Boo: If you want this Emerald so bad, then come and get it!

King Boo flew straight down at top speeds towards the Minus World painting with Mecha Sonic close behind him. His plan was to dive towards the painting and then, at the last second, fly up away from it, while Mecha Sonic falls into it, going too fast to stop.

What King Boo didn't take into account was just as he phased into the ceremonial chamber, Mecha Sonic teleported right in front of him and punched him in the face with the hand gripping the Dark Moon piece.

The sudden stop forced his crown, and the Chaos Emerald on top of it, to fall off of King Boo's head and into the painting.

King Boo: No!

Mecha Sonic: Nooooooo!

Mecha Sonic charged towards it, falling into the painting too.

Shadow had just appeared as the whole thing was happening.

King Boo: My crown! It's gone forever! I'll never get that power back now! I have to go get a new one!

King Boo floated off to find a replacement crown while Shadow walked up to the painting and examined it. He could actually see Sonic, Mario and other things moving inside the painting.

Shadow: Sonic?

Luigi and Goombella had just arrived, carrying Yoshi and Stuffwell with them.

Stuffwell: That's it! That's the painting that Masters Mario and Sonic are trapped in!

Everyone swarmed around the painting.

Shadow: What are you talking about?

Stuffwell: I've already explained it to Masters Luigi and Yoshi and Mistress Goombella. Masters Mario and Sonic fell into that painting trying to escape their assaileriser.

Shadow: They're not the only ones. Mecha Sonic and the Chaos Emerald fell down there too. And I'm going in after them.

All of a sudden, Stuffwell started ringing.

Stuffwell: I appear to be receiving an incoming transmission from the professor.

Stuffwell grew an antennae and a holographic display of Professor E. Gadd appeared out of it.

E. Gadd: Greetings! I assume everyone can hear me clearly?

Stuffwell: Affirmatory, Professor. How may we be of assistance?

E. Gadd: Ohohohohoh! I think you boys are the ones in need of assistance at this time. Now then, I have been studying your mission very closely back at the lab and was intrigued by this new discovery that you stumbled upon. After seeing this, I was able to get in touch with Professor Frankly at the University of Goom and learned something quite extraordinary about your finding. It would be easier to let him tell you yourself. Okie-Dokie Professor, you're up.

Professor E. Gadd disappeared and was replaced with a hologram depicting Professor Frankly.

Frankly: Hello? Is this thing on? Hello? Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?

Goombella: Yes, Professor. We hear you loud and clear.

Frankly: Ah splendid. Now, I heard you came across a most unusual painting. May I see it?

Stuffwell walked closer to the painting to give Professor Frankly a closer look.

Frankly: I see... and has anyone or anything fallen inside of this painting?

Stuffwell: Indeed. Master Mario and Master Sonic fell into it some time ago. And a robot dubbed Mecha Sonic fell into it not long after along with the Chaos Emerald.

Goombella: And Professor Kolorado was thrown in there three days ago.

Frankly: Has anyone of them come out after they entered it?

Stuffwell: Not to my knowledge, Professor.

Goombella: I'm afraid not, Professor.

Frankly: Oh my.

Stuffwell: "Oh my"? I assumptionate that's not a good sign?

Frankly: It would appear that my fears were correct and King Boo has used my notes to create his own version of the Minus World.

Stuffwell: The Minus World? I have never heard of such a place.

Frankly: That's because many people dismissed it as a myth. But the discovery of an ancient journal proves that it really exists. That painting before you is a miniaturized copy of the Minus World. Exactly like it in every way, including how those who enter become trapped...FOREVER!

Stuffwell: Travesty! Are you saying Masters Mario and Sonic are now stuck there?

Frankly: If the legends are correct. Allow me to divulge to you the story of this world.

Shadow: I really don't have time for this nonsense!

Frankly: Now hear me out! You five need to hear this! It concerns the very Mushroom Kingdom as we know it. And you better listen too. YEAH, YOU! Behind the computer monitor! You need to pay attention as well! *ahem* The journal in question dates back 669 years ago...

* * *

Sonic: Fine, then. Just sit there and quit. But Mario and I are going to find a way out of here. One way or another! OW!

Something hard fell from the sky and hit Sonic on the head. All three of them looked down to see what it was.

Kolorado: By Jove, what a fascinating gem. But where did it come from?

Sonic: It's The Chaos Emerald! We've found it! But how did it get here?

Kolorado: Chaos Emerald? What's a Chaos Emerald, if you don't mind me asking?

Sonic: Long story short, there are seven Chaos Emeralds, each of them imbued with incredible power. And we need to find them all before someone else does.

Someone Else: There you are!

The three of them turned to see an 8-bit Mecha Sonic glaring at them.

Mecha Sonic: So this is where you vermin were hiding. I should've known why that miserable excuse for a king felt this painting was so important.

Kolorado: And who's this seedy-looking fellow? I can't say I like the looks of him.

Sonic: Careful, Professor. That's Mecha Sonic. He's the someone else I was telling you about.

Kolorado: Oh, so this is the hooligan that is after those Chaos Emeralds, eh? Well, he certainly won't be getting this one without a fight.

Mecha Sonic: How adorable. Another annoying talking turtle who doesn't know his place. I'll gladly shut that mouth of yours permanently, right before I pry that Chaos Emerald of your burning carcass!

Sonic: If you want it so badly, try and take it from us.

Mecha Sonic: I'll be sure to carve that on your headstone, Sonic!

Mecha Sonic performed a Spin Dash and tried to run over our heroes, but Mario and Sonic jumped out of the way and brought Kolorado to safety behind a bush.

Sonic: Stay here until this fight is over. Mario and I will take care of him.

Kolorado: What? I can't let you fight that monstrosity on your own!

Sonic: Please, he's too dangerous! Just leave him to us and stay down.

Kolorado: Oh, all right. I suppose I can leave this to the professionals this one time. Just be sure to give him a swift kick in the bum for me, boys.

Kolorado took cover just as a missile nearly took out Mario and Sonic. The two of them ran with Mecha Sonic right behind their heels. He fired a chest laser that kicked up a lot of blocks out of the ground but failed to hit their intended targets. Then our heroes each grabbed a block and chucked it at Mecha Sonic. Momentarily disoriented, Mario delivered a flying kick to his backside that left a trench in the ground where Mecha Sonic landed. Mecha Sonic got up just as Mario was going to kick him again. He teleported behind him and returned the favor only for Sonic to show up and deliver a kick of his own.

The heroes took on Mecha Sonic while running through this 8-bit world. At one point it seemed they had the advantage, kicking Mecha Sonic back and forth like a volley ball. Then Mecha Sonic used Chaos Blast to release an explosion of Chaos energy that sent them both flying in opposite directions. Mecha Sonic warped behind Mario and punched him with enough force to send him crashing into Sonic. The two of them quickly regained their bearings and continued running.

Mecha Sonic chased after them again and this time tried to punch the ground where they were standing. The heroes dodged out of the way and Mecha Sonic just kicked up a bunch of blocks. He improvised, punching the blocks into Mario and Sonic, knocking them into the air. He swatted Sonic away and grabbed Mario by using the extendable cables in his arms. He slammed Mario into the ground, kicking up more blocks into the air that Mecha Sonic destroyed by kicking Mario into them. Followed by another Chaos Blast that sent Mario flying until he smacked into a block.

Luckily for him, this was a ? Block, which released a Cape Feather that Mario used to become Cape Mario. Cape Mario and Mecha Sonic ran towards each other, building speed until the collided with enough force to create a crater around them a quarter-of-a-mile wide!

The two of them traded and deflected blow after blow from each other before taking to the skies. There, they repeatedly try to ram into each other. Mecha Sonic won as he crashed into Mario and took him on a collision course through a nearby castle, with Sonic following them from the ground.

After crashing inside the castle, Mecha Sonic hit Mario with a spin attack and pulled him back with his extendable hands so that he could perform a Spin Dash on his back! Mario was sent flying back, while Mecha Sonic claimed the Emerald. But then, Sonic showed up with a sucker punch, knocking the Emerald out of Mecha Sonic's hands. Mecha Sonic tried to take it back, but Sonic dodged him, only to be countered by Mecha Sonic teleporting in front of him and punching him. Sonic hit him with another spinning attack before he could grab the Chaos Emerald and took it back.

Both hedgehogs curled up and started bashing into each other with Spin Attacks, but to no avail. So Mecha Sonic hit Sonic with an extendable hand while Sonic was in mid-spin, pushing him through three walls before reeling him back and knocking him into Mario.

With the Emerald in his hand, Mecha Sonic did what villains love to do. Gloat.

Mecha Sonic: Looks like I win again, Sonic. To the victor belongs the spoils, and I can't think of a better prize than this Chaos Emerald. Even so, it doesn't make up for the four other Emeralds you stole from me. So I ask you one last time, WHERE ARE THEY?!

Sonic: *hmph* One of the others have them. Not that knowing this will be of any use to you.

Mecha Sonic: What's that supposed to mean?

Sonic: This painting we're in has a curse on it. The same curse as the world that created it. Once you go in, you can never get out. Meaning, you've lost. I may not have been able to stop you, but now that you're trapped here, you can't hurt anybody anymore. It's over, Mecha Sonic!

Mecha Sonic: Hah hah hah hah hah! How preposterous! Have you learned nothing from our previous encounters? I possess all the data from you and your other deceased friends. This gives me free reigns over all of their abilities, including Shadow's power of Chaos Control. Which I will use to escape this trash heap of negative space.

Sonic: Oh no!

Mecha Sonic: Heh. I was going to kill you, but I think leaving you here in this painting is more satisfying. Forever trapped in here until you starve or commit suicide. Truly, a fate worse than death at my hand. And so, with these parting words, I bid you farewell.

Sonic: NO!

Mecha Sonic: Chaos Control!

Mecha Sonic floated in the air for several seconds before realizing that he hasn't left.

Mecha Sonic: Chaos Control! Chaos Control! CHAOS CONTROL!

Sonic: It doesn't work!

Realizing this, Sonic couldn't help but laugh. He may not have won this fight, but now, Mecha Sonic can never win. For all his big talk, he was as screwed as Sonic was.

Mecha Sonic: Silence! How dare you laugh at me!

Sonic: And so it ends. I'll admit this was not the result I was hoping for. You can still kill us if you want, but then you'll be all alone. Forever!

Mecha Sonic: I would rather be alone than spend eternity with you worthless flesh sacks! I'm going to make your deaths as agonizing as possible!

Mecha Sonic began charging up his chest laser again to kill Mario and Sonic.

Sonic: Uh oh...

Mecha Sonic: NOW DIE!

* * *

Frankly:...if they saw the wall built to deceive the royal map-makers, the world and the future.

Shadow: Blah blah blah! What a bore!

Frankly: Hmmm? Weren't you listening to anything I just said?

Shadow: Oh, I heard you all right. And I don't care! All that matters to me are Mecha Sonic and the fifth Chaos Emerald, both of them are in that painting!

Frankly: But once you set foot in there, there'll be no escape!

Shadow: You underestimate me. With the power of a Chaos Emerald, I can manipulate time and space. Now, I'm gonna go in there, seize that Emerald, reduce Mecha Sonic into a pile of scrap, and warp right back out. And if any of you were to get in my way, you'll feel my wrath as well.

Shadow performed a high leap and dived into the Minus World painting

Frankly: Such an impetuous child! He has no idea what he's getting himself into.

Yoshi looked down and stared hard at the painting.

Stuffwell: Huh? Are you planning on venturising into that painting as well, Master Yoshi?

Yoshi: Mario needs my help. That's all I need to know.

Stuffwell: I can fully comprehend your concern for Master Mario, but would it not be wise to formularate a strategy first?

Yoshi: There's no time for that! I need to go now!

Stuffwell: I understand. How about you, Master Luigi?

Stuffwell turned around to face Luigi, but he had disappeared.

Stuffwell: Master Luigi?

* * *

 _It's like this story never ends! Sorry for the hold up guys, but this has been taking far longer than I thought. If you've told me that the sixth episode would've taken six chapters, I wouldn't have believed you. I don't think I'll be able to stretch out the movies to be this long! By the time I'm done with this episode, and some future reader has still read this far, I commend you for your patience._

 _If anyone's got any tips on how to keep these episodes short without sacrificing quality, I'd love to hear it. That being said, I am trying to keep the fight scenes from being too short. After all, they're half the reason people love this show._

 _Pray that this episode ends tomorrow and we could move on to other plot points. Wish me luck._


	18. The Boo King of Evershade Valley-Part 6

Luigi was flying through walls as fast as his little Boo body could move. Between King Boo, Mecha Sonic and now this evil painting that traps people, Luigi has had enough of Evershade Valley and was ready to ask the Professor to pixelate him back home. As Luigi was flying through the underground rooms, he didn't notice Boo Goombella in the Underground Lab until he crashed right into her. The impact caused both of their Boo Mushrooms to wear off and turn them back to normal.

Goombella: Ow! Why don't you watch where you going? Luigi? What are you doing here?

Luigi: Oh, uh, nothing. What are you doing here?

Goombella: I noticed that Mecha Sonic dropped the last piece of the Dark Moon, so I brought it over here to scrub out the dark energy and fix it. I know it was rude of me to leave in the middle of the Professor's speech, but I already knew the important stuff and I didn't think it would help us save Mario. Which reminds me, did the professor manage to think of a way to get out of that painting?

Luigi: N-not exactly.

Goombella: Well, what about a way to stop that hunk of junk that's in there with him?

Luigi: I think Shadow and Yoshi went in after him and-

Goombella: And you didn't?!

Luigi: W-well no, but-

Goombella: Those two are risking their lives to fight that maniac, and you won't even help your own brother?

Luigi: There was no way out of there! If I went I'd be trapped forever too! And with Mecha Sonic there, jumping in would be suicide. There's no way I could go. A-and besides, this is a-Mario we're talking about, here. If anyone could escape he could, right?

Goombella showed no sympathy to Luigi's reasoning. In fact, all she showed was disgust.

Goombella: Y'know, Mario didn't talk much when I met him. But when he did, he'd sometimes mention how you saved his life and had his back no matter what. Now I see he was giving you too much credit. You're nothing but a chicken through and through! If you're not gonna be of any use to anybody, then just get out of here!

Goombella went back to scrubbing the dark energy off the last Dark Moon piece by hand while Luigi digested her words. Luigi initially took Goombella's advice and made for the exit. But he didn't try to leave with the panic and adrenaline coursing through his veins like before. Instead, all he could feel was shame. As he stood in front of the door, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of him and Mario celebrating another one of their victories. Luigi wanted to save his brother, he really did, he just didn't see a way that he could.

Luigi grabbed and turned the door knob. As he pulled it back, he was greeted with a large white face with beady black eyes and razor sharp teeth.

King Boo: Boo.

Luigi: AAAAHHHHH!

Luigi fell on his behind and backed away as King Boo floated closer. Goombella heard the scream and turned to see the worst possible scenario. King Boo stopped paying attention to Luigi and looked at her.

King Boo: Sorry for taking so long, I had to go get a new crown. So, this is where you've been hiding! Y'know, after you've escaped the other day, I had my henchmen search and search all over Evershade Valley. But I never thought you'd be hiding in plain sight.

Two Boos appeared right behind Goombella and lifter her up into the air.

Goombella: Hey! Let me go, you creeps!

King Boo floated up to her and grabbed the last piece of the Dark Moon out of her hands, the dark energy almost all gone.

King Boo: I gotta admit, you're a clever one. But cleverness only gets you so far. The plus side is, you'll be reunited with your friend very soon.

Luigi: S-stay away from her!

King Boo turned around and saw Luigi on shaking legs.

Luigi: It's a-me you want, isn't it? I'm the guy who ruined your grand plan twice. Take me and leave her out of this.

King Boo: Don't worry, I'll deal with you eventually. But right now, you're the least of my concerns.

Luigi: Eh?

King Boo: Just like she said, you're a chicken. I always knew that. Without a Poltergust, all you do is run away with your tail between your legs. But abandoning your brother? That's a self-serving attitude I can appreciate.

Luigi didn't say anything. He just clenched his fists and hung his head low.

King Boo: Besides, it's not like you could really leave anyway. The force field's still up and with the Bunker completely trashed, that nutty professor can only hide there for so long before needing some air. Now, go on. Run along little Baby Luigi. Enjoy the little time you have left. Think of it as a gift from me.

Luigi didn't move.

King Boo: Hey, didn't you hear me? I said-

Before he could finish his sentence, Luigi pulled out a cape feather and transformed into Cape Luigi. He took off faster than King Boo could see and appeared right in front of him. King Boo was shocked by this, but not as shocked to see the Dark Moon shard that was in his hand now in Luigi's. Luigi gripped the piece as hard as he could and reeled back to punch King Boo in the face as hard as he could!

King Boo was sent flying out of the room and Luigi turned around and looked at the Boos with such fierceness in his eyes, they dropped Goombella and took off fleeing for their afterlives.

Luigi: Are you okay?

Goombella: Yeah, I'll live. Thanks for the save. Maybe, your not as bad as I thought.

Luigi: Trust me, I''m just as bad. I just-a don't like having it pointed out by people who are-a even worse.

Goombella opened the cabinet where she hid the other Dark moon pieces and pulled one out. She tossed it to Luigi.

Goombella: Here!

Luigi grabbed it.

Goombella: Now give me the other one. I still need to scrub it clean.

Luigi complied.

Luigi: Okey-dokey. But why give me this one?

The two of them heard a scream of frustration coming from the direction King Boo was knocked into.

Goombella: That's why. You say he's worse than you? Time for you to prove it. You go kick his butt, while I scrub the last piece, got it?

Luigi gave her a thumbs-up and flew after King Boo, knocking down walls until he came face to face with his ghostly nemesis.

King Boo: YOU'RE DEAD!

* * *

Mario and Sonic were both exhausted from battling Mecha Sonic. Even with the Minus Painting's negative energy affecting Mecha Sonic's capabilities, he was still too much for our two heroes.

Mecha Sonic: So you're still alive, huh? You're both just like cockroaches. You just keep coming and I just keep squashing. Pitiful. No point in delaying the inevitable, then. Maggots like you don't deserve to be alive near me.

Mecha Sonic rose to the air and charged up a Spin Dash to finish them off. But then, Shadow appeared right in front of him and knocked him aside. He continued to teleport around Mecha Sonic, attacking him while he was too disoriented to fight back, finishing him with a flurry of Chaos Magic attacks before finishing him off with a Chaos Blast, taking the Emerald as it fell out of Mecha Sonic's clutches.

Sonic: Shadow? What are you doing here?

Shadow: Don't think I'm here to save you. I'm only here for the Chaos Emerald and revenge upon Mecha Sonic.

Sonic: Ugh...typical...

Yoshi: Was he always like this back in your dimension?

Sonic: Yoshi? You're here too? Well, that's just great! Now we're all stuck in here with Mecha Sonic!

Shadow: Not to worry. I'll just drop you losers back outside and promptly warp back in to spray Mecha Sonic's parts across this painting. Besides, seeing how busted up you are, you would only be a burden to me, like always.

Sonic: But, Shadow, you don't understand...

Shadow: Chaos Control! Huh? Why isn't it working?

Sonic: That's the problem. Chaos control is useless here.

Shadow: Idiot! Why didn't you tell me sooner!

Sonic: I was trying to, ya moron!

Mecha Sonic: You're all just so eager to die, aren't you? Well, all you had to do was ask!

Shadow: Don't count on it.

Everyone leapt into action as our four heroes charged Mecha Sonic head on.

* * *

Back in the real world, Luigi and King Boo's battle had thrown them across the entire mansion. Before the battle had started, Luigi and King Boo were racing towards each other, but then a Greenie popped out in front of Luigi and startled him. Luigi stopped in his tracks by instinct, giving King Boo an opportunity to ram into him full force.

King Boo smashed Luigi threw several walls and the ceiling before dumping him onto the floor of the Ice Age Exhibit. King Boo took a deep breath and blew cold air onto Luigi, freezing him solid. But the ice started cracking and Luigi let out a yell as he bursted himself free in a shower of freezing shrapnel.

King Boo whistled and ten Slammers appeared, their fists ready to pound anything that their master ordered. Luigi pulled out his mallet just as the Slammers charged towards him. He smacked one in the face and in a single motion, smashed down a second one. A third one tried to punch him just as a fourth one snuck up behind Luigi. Luigi ducked the attack, causing the third one to knock out the fourth Slammer while Luigi knocked him out with a hammer to the head. The fifth through ninth Slammers jumped him at one, but Luigi spun around in circles, deflecting all their attacks and rendering their efforts pointless. Despite his comrades down and beaten, the last Slammer wasn't giving up. He pulled back a fist and launched it at Luigi's face. But instead of his face, it made contact with his open palm. Luigi gripped the Slammer's fist and spun around, dragging him along with him until Luigi let go and sent him spiraling into King Boo.

King Boo and the Slammer went through the wall and Luigi followed them, knocking down each wall until he ended up in the study. Luigi looked around and saw something that wasn't there the last time he was in this room, but couldn't help feeling familiar to him. He saw a grand piano with it's lid closed shut. Luigi flew over and inspected it, wondering where he's seen it before. He knows it wasn't in this room, he would've remembered if it was. Curiously wondering if King Boo was hiding in there, Luigi opened the lid and tried to brace himself if King Boo was in there. He stood on the edges of the piano and stared in shock as he looked down.

There wasn't King Boo.

There wasn't any piano keys.

What there was however, was a large pink tongue.

Luigi had flashbacks to King Boo's other mansion and suddenly remembered where he saw this piano before. Large white fangs bursted out from where Luigi was holding up the piano and where Luigi was standing on it. Luigi let out a yelp as he tried to stop the Mad Piano from biting down on him. Luigi was just strong enough to get himself out of this but before he could, something struck him in the back of the head.

Luigi turned his head around and out of the corner of his eye was the Ancient Poltergeist he defeated last time, lifting up several books with it's psychic powers and hurling them right at him. Luigi took the brunt of the books as they hit his fingers and the back of his knees, trying to feed him to the Mad Piano. The Ancient Poltergeist decided to change tactics, lifting up the entire shelf and preparing to throw it at Luigi.

Luigi popped the Dark Moon piece into his mouth and, with both hands, used his cape's powers to lift the piano just off the ground and swing it at the same time the Poltergeist launched the bookshelf. Not only did the piano block the attack, but Luigi kept going until it collided with a wall, making the piano let go. Luigi lifted it up by it's lid higher into the air and spun it around, faster and faster before letting go and throwing it at the Poltergeist. The Poltergeist stopped it in it's tracks with his psychic powers. He let out a smug laugh before Luigi punched the piano with enough force to send it back crashing into the large-headed ghost. Both it and the Mad Piano laid unconscious.

Luigi let out a sigh of relief as the nightmare was over. He pulled the stone out of his mouth and heard familiar laughter, reminding him of the nightmare he was still trapped in. Luigi turned to where that laughter was coming from and saw a vase. Luigi flew to the vase for a closer look, not realizing the Sneaker ghost, er, sneaking up behind him. Just as Luigi was going to look down into it, this time now expecting a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, the Sneaker poked his shoulder and Luigi jumped to turn around. He didn't see anybody in front of him and he didn't see the Hider ghost popping up out of the vase behind him and stealing the Dark Moon piece out of his hand.

As soon as Luigi felt the weight of the rock disappear, he was trapped inside the gelatinous purple body of a Creeper. As Luigi tried to struggle his way out, King Boo descended from the ceiling laughing at Luigi's misfortune.

King Boo: Gotcha! That Creeper is special; it's been soaking up in the crystals back at the mine for days! All just to make sure you won't escape! I was going to throw you in the Minus Painting with your brother, but what good pet owner shows off a tasty treat and doesn't feed it to them?

King Boo grabbed the Creeper by its bottom end and lifted it and Luigi up upside-down.

King Boo: Oh, boy!

The Mad Piano had recovered and was shaking itself awake. It turned towards King Boo and saw Luigi helpless. It leapt towards its owner, keys slamming as its lid slammed open and shut over and over again. As it approached King Boo, it stuck its tongue and panted like a dog.

King Boo: I hope you're hungry. I prepared this one special, with a nice marinade of ghost jelly!

The Mad Piano licked its lips while Luigi struggled even harder to get out of the Creeper's grasp. But it was too strong.

King Boo: Now open wide and say "aah"!

The Piano open it's lid as far as it could, showing off it's fat tongue and sharp teeth for all to see. However, it didn't say a word. Of course it didn't, it's a piano. However Luigi said "aah!" as loud as he could as King Boo threw him into the Mad Piano's mouth and the Piano's lid slammed shut. Taking several bites before swallowing.

King Boo petted his monstrosity after the deed was done.

King Boo: Good boy! Did you like your meal?

The piano burped in response.

King Boo: I'm glad you did, because there'll be plenty more where that came from after I conquer the Land of the Living! Just as soon as I make that pesky Goomba and that irritating Professor and make them wish they were never born! But first...

The Hider popped out of the vase and handed over the Dark Moon piece to King Boo.

King Boo: Perfect! Without all of the Dark Moon pieces, bringing the Dark Moon back will be impossible! I'll just dump this in the Minus Painting then destroy it, along with that robot, Mario, and his merry band of freaks!

King Boo made his way out the door then heard the unmistakable sound of piano keys being slammed down.

King Boo: What the-?

King Boo turned to his pet and saw its lid being lifted up slightly only to be slammed shut again. This behavior was abnormal even for a flesh-eating piano, so King Boo managed to figure out what was happening.

King Boo: No. No, no, that's not possible! Gobbers, get in here!

Two Gobbers appeared out of the walls and stood side-by-side by King Boo. King Boo pointed a finger at the Mad Piano.

King Boo: Fire!

The Gobbers spat out balls of goo at the Mad Piano until its lid was sealed shut. The Mad Piano growled angrily at this while Luigi continued to try and escape.

King Boo: I'm sorry, sweetie. But daddy needed to make sure the bad man didn't escape. Now, me and my slaves are going to hold you down while you just focus on swallowing, okay? Idiots, get over here!

King Boo and the Gobbers pressed down on the Mad Piano's lid with all their weight to keep Luigi from escaping. Making things worse for King Boo was the fact that the lid was covered in goop.

King Boo: Yuck! Did you two have to spray the whole lid?

Suddenly, something popped out of the lid of the piano, knocking all three ghosts away from it.

King Boo: Jerry!

King Boo saw that the Mad Piano now had a large hole at the top of its lid. Its legs began to slip away further and further from each other until the piano itself, laid on the floor with its tongue sticking out, dead. As King Boo went over to check on it, he noticed that the Dark Moon stone wasn't in his hand any more. Then he looked up and saw Luigi flying just above his dead pet, crossing his arms and holding the Dark Moon stone in his hand and a ticked off look on his face. And he was staring right at him.

King Boo: ...I'm sorry...

* * *

Stuffwell: Please tell me that you have made progression with your researchings on this dimension. I fear for our friends' safety.

Frankly: Elvin and I are working as fast as we can. We're just not coming up with any solutions.

Stuffwell: I am not trying to be critical, but the more we delay, the lower our chances are for success.

Frankly: I am aware of that. It's just not easy to solve a centuries-old myth under this much pressure. And besides, even if we do get someone out of the Minus World, we don't know if it'll get them out of the Minus Painting.

All of a sudden, a large white object flew over their heads at Mach 1, crashing into the wall opposite them.

Stuffwell: What on Earth?!

The object lifted itself up and revealed itself to be King Boo. King Boo rubbed it's head just as Luigi appeared and landed right in front of Stuffwell.

Stuffwell: Luigi?

King Boo looked up and panicked at Luigi's presence. Then he realized where he was and got a fiendish idea. He lit up a blue fireball in his hand and pointed it at the Minus Painting.

King Boo: Take one more step, and I'll destroy the painting with your brother in it!

All of a sudden, the confidence Luigi gained in the fight evaporated as his brother's life was now in mortal peril. Well, more mortal peril than it already was.

King Boo: Here's the deal, you jump in the painting and I'll make sure all your needs are met. I'll provide you food, water, video games, whatever you need. I'll make sure you have nothing to worry about. Minus the psychotic killer robot, of course. Or, I can burn it and you will never see your brother again. So what's it gonna be, Luigi? Do you want spend eternity with your brother? Or do you want to watch him burn? The clock is ticking so I suggest you make your choice and make it fast!

To Luigi, the answer was obvious. He knew that King Boo was probably lying. He knew he had no reason to trust him. But he also knew that complying was his best chance to save Mario. So Luigi only had one option. He dispelled the cape, leapt into the air and fell into the Minus Painting, the image splashing like water before reforming back to its previous state.

King Boo: He did it! He's gone! Ha ha! He's gone!

* * *

As Luigi arrived in the Minus Painting, he was at peace, knowing he made the right choice to save his brother. That was until he opened his eyes and saw himself underwater and surrounded by Bloopers. After that, Luigi's calm composure was replaced with panicked screaming.

* * *

King Boo wooped and looped in the air after seeing his arch-enemy trapped forever.

King Boo: I did it! I beat Luigi! Now all I have to do is get rid of that Professor and rule the world!

Stuffwell: This-this is terrible! I must warn the Professor at once!

Stuffwell ran for the exit but was blocked by two Boos that grabbed him by the handle and lifted him up.

Stuffwell: L-let me go! Releasicate me at once!

The Boos brought him face to face with their King.

King Boo: Don't think I forgot about you. I don't know what your deal is, but any friend of Luigi's is an enemy of mine! Which is why I'm going to light this painting on fire and laugh at the ashes! While I do hate to waste such a masterpiece, nothing could be more beautiful than watching the Mario Bros. burn! And since you're already here, you get to join them! Ahhahahahahahaha!

The Boos were just ready to throw Stuffwell into the Minus Painting but then something strange happened. Stuffwell started to glow purple.

King Boo: Huh?

Stuffwell: My, what is this?

* * *

All rather simple to explain really. You see, as soon as King Boo talked about wanting Luigi to jump in the painting, he knew he was going to have to jump. But not before putting both hands behind him and motioning for Stuffwell to take the last Dark Moon piece. Stuffwell knew how important it was and although he was confused at first, he successfully got the message and opened wide to take the Dark Moon piece. With Goombella already explaining to him where she hid the rest, he figured all he had to do was take it to the Underground Lab and it'll merge itself with the rest.

But as everyone can see, that plan has derailed and now, those stones will have to find a way to Stuffwell...

* * *

In the Underground Lab, Goombella had just finished scrubbing the last bit of dark energy off the last Dark Moon piece.

Goombella: Finally! Without a scrubbing machine, that took way longer than it should've. Now, all I have to do is find Luigi and get that other piece back. Considering all the noise he made, finding him shouldn't be too hard to do-Huh!?

The Dark Moon pieces started floating out of their hiding spot. They followed each other one-by-one as they zoomed past the exit with Goombella right behind them.

Goombella: Hey! Wait up! Wait for me!

* * *

King Boo: I don't like the looks of this. Well, what are you waiting for? Throw him in now!

The Boos threw Stuffwell towards the Minus Painting but he never landed. Instead he just floated right above it as the glow grew in brightness. Suddenly, purple glow began to appear at the door and King Boo had a terrible realization.

King Boo: No! That's impossible!

It wasn't. Remember, the Dark Moon piece wasn't the only precious cargo Stuffwell was carrying. The four Chaos Emeralds that were inside him had amplified the fragments power so much, that it called the other pieces to come to it so it could reform. The Dark Moon fragments flew into the room and Stuffwell flew right at them. The five pieces circled around Stuffwell, spinning faster and faster until Stuffwell opened itself and revealed the last piece. The pieces collided together. And as Stuffwell looked up, Goombella entered the room and King Boo stared in horror, the Dark Moon was whole again.

* * *

Back in the Minus Painting, the heroes weren't doing so well. All four of them were putting up a decent fight against Mecha Sonic, but even with all the advantages at their disposal, Mecha Sonic still had an edge over them.

Meanwhile, Kolorado stood back by the water to watch the fight.

Kolorado: Oh, I hate feeling so helpless! Alas, there's nothing I can do. But alas, all that can be done is for me to be patient and let the more capable handle this. If only I still had my pocket watch, then we could escape this pit of nightmares and leave that mechanical menace behind!

At that precise moment, a relatively tall plumber dressed in green jumped out of the water screaming and landed right on top of Kolorado. The impact knocked Luigi's hat off his head and hit the ground, where Kolorado's pocket watch broke due to being weakened by the negative energy outside it. However, the positive energy inside the pocket watch was unaffected and expanded across the entire painting, momentarily freezing everything in place before everyone appeared in their normal forms.

The heroes and Mecha Sonic stopped in their tracks as the world around them and themselves became more modernized.

Sonic: Whuh...huh? What the heck just happened?

A now normal Kolorado picked up the stopwatch while a now normal Luigi picked up his hat.

Kolorado: By jove, grandpappy's pocket watch! Luigi must've brought it with him and it turned us all back to normal!

Mario and the others were still going to continue the battle with Mecha Sonic, but then a ring came out of the Emerald Radar in his pocket. Mario took it out and saw the grinning face of Professor E. Gadd.

E. Gadd: Mario? Oh, good, I can finally reach you. What the devil is going on there? There was a massive energy fluctuation and the negativity has just dissipated!

Mario: It's kinda a long story. What happened was-

E. Gadd: Well, perhaps now isn't a good time to talk about it. The negative energy is slowly returning as we speak. You all must hurry and find the nearest exit or else you'll remain trapped in there forever! Don't risk trying that Chaos Control technique because the returning energy might stop it and every millisecond counts! I repeat, find an exit and GET OUT OF THERE NOW!

The whole world had momentarily reversed colors as the negative energy began to return.

Mecha Sonic: Not one of you shall be leaving this place alive if I have anything to say about it!

Mecha Sonic turned his arm into a machine gun but before he could fire a single shot, Shadow warped behind him and knocked him down with a Chaos Blast, sending him about twenty feet away from our heroes. Meanwhile, Luigi and Kolorado began running for their lives.

Kolorado: Gangway! Coming through! Geronimo! Banzai! Err, quite right!

Sonic: Okay, time to move it or lose it, people!

Everyone took off as fast as they could for the underwater pipe. It was the only thing in the painting that could be used as an exit.

Mecha Sonic: Oh, no you don't! You're not getting away from me this time!

Mecha Sonic charged himself up and took off after them, machine gun blazing as he tried to fill them full of holes. But either through speed, skill, or extreme luck, not a single bullet hit. So Mecha Sonic switched weapons for a missile launcher and fired. But Yoshi, who was carrying Mario and Kolorado at the time, grabbed it with his tongue, turned around and threw it right back at him! Mecha Sonic could barely defend himself from his own attack.

Sonic: Hey! I can see the exit! Dead ahead!

Good thing too, because the world shifted again and was slowly becoming more 8-bit. Everyone dived into the water (aside from Sonic who was unintentionally shoved in) and swam for their lives to the warp pipe (aside from Sonic who had to be carried by Mario). Everyone made it just in time just as the Minus Painting reverted to its previous state, including Mecha Sonic.

* * *

Back in the real world, King Boo watched as the Dark Moon flew out of a large hole in the Ceremonial Chamber and flew higher into the sky. It released a wave of energy that destroyed the force field surrounding Evershade Valley and turned the ghosts back to normal. And the ghosts remembered what King Boo did.

All of a sudden, all sorts of ghosts started showing up in the chamber, ready to give King Boo his just desserts.

King Boo: What? You think I'm scared? With or without you, I still have an army.

On King Boo's side of the room, Boos began appearing out of the wall. For every ghost that stood opposed to King Boo in that room, there were one or two Boos that stood by him. But the ghosts weren't afraid and neither was Goombella. The young Goomba walked up in front of the ghosts and told King Boo.

Goombella: Do you want to know the one thing I can't stand? Well, I'll tell ya anyway! It's bullies who think they can walk all over others and get away with it! We have put up with your abuse for way too long and now, it's time for you to pay the piper! Are you all with me!?

Ghosts: YYeeeaaaaaahhHH!

Goombella: Then let's do this! CHARGE!

The ghosts and the Boos floated towards each other ready for war. But then, Sonic and Mario appeared and landed right on top of King Boo, flattening him. Followed by Shadow landing on top of Sonic and Mario and then jumping out of the way before Luigi, Yoshi and Kolorado could land on him.

Goombella: Well, I didn't see that coming.

Stuffwell: Oh, joyous day! You're all unscathed!...In a manner of speaking.

Kolorado: My word, what happened while we were in there?

Then Mecha Sonic appeared and began charging up his energy cannon.

Sonic: Woah! Shadow, get us out of here! Now!

Shadow whipped out the Chaos Emerald.

Shadow: Chaos Control!

All our heroes vanished in the blink of an eye as Mecha Sonic let loose an energy blast that not only hit King Boo, but dug through the foundation of the mansion. The whole place shook as the rock it was standing on was breaking apart and the mansion was collapsing as it fell to the chasm below. All the ghosts got out while the getting was good. The only ones that stayed behind were King Boo and Mecha Sonic. Both went down with the Treacherous Mansion all the way to the bottom.

* * *

When the destruction was over, King Boo floated up from the wreckage and looked around. As a ghost, King Boo was unharmed but fuming that another one of his plans ended in failure thanks to Luigi and his meddling friends. He threw his new crown in frustration. He screamed in frustration.

King Boo: I WAS SO CLOSE! I HAD IT ALL! THE POWER! THE ARMY! MY OWN KILLER ROBOT! I EVEN HAD MY OWN MINUS WORLD! BUT I STILL LOST! TO THE PATHETIC MARIO BROTHER! CAN'T A SINGLE ONE YOU MORONS DO ANYTHING RIGHT!?

King Boo'S final word echoed around him. He looked around to find a servant to yell at, but realized he was all alone. After his tantrum was done, he followed where he threw the crown and found the Minus Painting. After a closer look, he saw his new crown in the painting at the bottom of the 8-bit ocean. Right next to his old crown.

King Boo: It doesn't get any worse than this, does it?

Mecha Sonic: I beg to differ.

Suddenly, something grabbed King Boo from behind and slammed him into the dirt. He was lifted up and saw the face of Mecha Sonic.

Mecha Sonic: It could always be worse. Especially when I'm feeling very. Pissed. Off!

King Boo: You! How did you-?

Mecha Sonic: Come now, did you really think a few hundred metric tons of rock and cheap artifacts would be enough to stop me? But thanks to you, I didn't get my Chaos Emeralds and I couldn't destroy those hedgehogs or their worthless new friends and I spent the past three days as your personal toy because of that ghost I tortured. Which makes killing you a satisfactory consolation prize.

King Boo: Uh, I think you might want to get your eyes or whatever it is you have checked. Because, uh, I'm a ghost! I'm already dead! You can't kill something twice!

Mecha Sonic: That's what the other guy said. And while I couldn't kill him, I did make him wish I could. You, however, I have a feeling will be a very different story.

Mecha Sonic shoved King Boo into the Minus Painting.

* * *

King Boo: What? You think this scares me? I'm not gonna starve here. And my loyal servants will spend every waking moment getting me out! You haven't won anythi-Wait. What is that? Okay, stop! Stop! You made your point! I'm sorry, okay!? I'm sorry! So stop! Please! STOP!

* * *

Mecha Sonic took in the sounds of King Boo's screams as he watched the Minus Painting burn right in front of him. In the silence of the night, King Boo's anguish was like music to him. And he could only imagine how sweet Sonic and his friends will sound, as their souls burn in the deepest pit of Hell.

* * *

Right outside Mario's house, everyone was looking up at a holographic projection of Professor Frankly appearing out of Stuffwell's little satellite.

Frankly: So it was the pocket watch that allowed you to escape? Interesting. Yes. Most interesting!

Sonic: It certainly was a lucky coincidence. If you ask me, our whole quest has been nothing but luck.

Frankly: I wouldn't be so sure about that. After all, Frankly did tell you about the pocket watch's properties, did he not? About how since it was powered by positive energy, it could cancel out negative energy, correct? I guess you should thank your great-great grandkoopa for that, eh, Kolorado?

Kolorado: Absolutely. I owe a lot to such a great Koopa. This pocket watch made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure my safe return to the Mushroom Kingdom. Sadly, it seems to have used up all of its magical energies and I can't even make it tick. That's why my next expedition shall be dedicated to my great-great-grandkoopa Kansas and his prized heirloom.

Frankly: Next expedition? You aren't seriously thinking about going away again after being trapped for three days inside a realm of negative space?

Kolorado: True explorers never rest, Frankly. That's what my father told me. It will be my sworn duty to venture forth to the land of Star Haven and seek out any means necessary to restore the pocket watch to its former prime. Along the way, I will discover more glorious treasures, to further the field of archaeology. Come, Goombella. We set out for Shooting Star Summit at once.

Goombella: You got it, Professor. You go ahead, I'll catch up.

Goombella walked up to Mario

Goombella: It was really great seeing you again, Mario. Thanks for everything.

Goombella jumped up and kissed Mario on the cheek. Mario's face turned bright red as he rubbed it.

Goombela: As for you, Luigi. I seriously had my doubts about you, but in the end you not only saved your brother, you saved me and the entire world. You really are everything your brother said you are.

Goombella jumped up and kissed Luigi's cheek this time and Luigi ended up repeating his brother.

Goombella: Goodbye, all!

Sonic: Bye, Goombella.

Frankly: In any case, I'm glad all of you made it back safe and sound. Now, I must return to my studies. Safe travels!

Frankly disappeared and Stuffwell retracted his satellite.

Stuffwell: Fantastical! We now have find Emeralds with no casualties. Only two more left to find. Okay, Master Mario. Boot up the radar, so we may continuate our quest.

Mario was just about to do that, but then Luigi noticed something in the distance that made him panic. He grabbed his brother and shook him back and forth.

Luigi: Mario!

Luigi let his brother go and pointed at the direction of Mushroom Castle. Everyone followed his finger and saw something very wrong.

Stuffwell: What the-? Why is there smoke billowing from the castle? What could have happened?

Toadsworth: Master Mario! Master Mario! *huff* Come quickly! It's an emergency!

Hearing the unmistakable voice of Toadsworth, Mario and the others turned to see the royal steward of the princess out of breath and barely keeping himself upright with his cane.

Stuffwell: Master Toadsworth? What is the problem? Why all the flusterings?

Toadsworth huffed and puffed before taking a deep breath to let out what's just happened.

Toadsworth: THE PRINCESS HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!

Mario panicked as Toadsworth collapsed to the ground exhausted.

* * *

 _ **Uh-oh! Mario and the others have come out of the frying pan and into the fire!**_

 _ **Using Peach as a hostage, the mighty King Bowser hopes to coax our heroes into relinquishing their Chaos Emeralds.**_

 _ **Will they continue the hunt for the last two Emeralds?**_

 _ **Or will they take Bowser's bait and mount a rescue operation?**_

 _ **Tune in to the next gripping installment of SUPER MARIO BROS. Z!**_

* * *

 _Praise the Lord, it is finally done! You have no idea how much I wanted to move on and get to the next episode already. Seriously, I commend anyone who stuck around for all six parts._

 _But in all seriousness, I hope you enjoyed my first original episode. I know it's not very original but AlvinEarthworm wanted a new episode 7 (or 6) and I gave it to him, while keeping the 8-bit parts and some other stuff._

 _I think what I'm most proud of is bringing in the Mad Piano. Seriously, that thing has caused more piano related nightmares than R. ever could._

 _Coming up next is the last episode that Alvin wrote and I hope you all look forward to reading it. But as for this episode, please post a review to let me know what you think, what you liked and what I should work on._

 _See ya'll tomorrow. (Probably)_


	19. The Great Doomship Offensive-Part 1

A large shadow rolled over the Mushroom Kingdom. The denizens looked up and what they saw filled them with horror. One Toad guard ran for the castle before it could.

The guard told the princess to come look outside, for it was an emergency that threatened the entire kingdom. Princess Peach and Toadsworth followed the Toad guard to the balcony.

They looked up and saw a colossal airship, almost the size of the castle itself. Cannons, machine guns, missiles, all manner of weaponry were poking out of nearly every inch of the thing. At the stern was a large watch tower, where a throne was set up for Bowser to watch as the Omega Doomship descended closer towards the castle.

A Koopa Clown Copter appeared out of the undercarriage of the massive Doomship and flew right in front of Princess Peach. Bowser's voice was heard out of its built in microphone.

Bowser: Attention Princess Peach! This is Bowser, Ruler of the Koopa Kingdom, speaking! With your champion, Mario, currently outside your borders, you have no choice but to step into the Clown Copter and board my Omega Doomship! Otherwise, I will obliterate the entire Mushroom Kingdom! The choice is yours, Princess!

* * *

Toadsworth: Sadly, that was the last thing I remember before I passed out from the shock. When I came to, the Princess was gone. I can only assume that brute, Bowser, now has her.

Sonic: Well, we needed this like we needed a hole in the head.

The heroes had brought Toadsworth inside, woken him up and gave him some water so that he could properly explain what happened.

Stuffwell: I concur. Just when we were making progression on our quest. Master Toadsworth, do you happen to have any clues that we can go by?

Toadsworth: I'm sorry, I've told you everything I know, but I would imagine finding Bowser's airship wouldn't be too difficult, considering how huge it was.

Mario had turned his head slightly and has noticed the note stuck to their front door.

Mario: Luigi, look!

Mario and Luigi walked up to it. Mario grabbed the note and they both began reading it.

Mario: It's from Bowser!

Bowser: "Dear pesky plumbers, the Koopalings and I have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom! The princess is now a PERMANENT guest on my giant flying Doomship! I dare ya to find her if ya can!"

Sonic: Well, what's it say?

Mario: We gotta find the princess!

Luigi: And you gotta help us!

Bowser: "If you need instructions on how to save the princess, check out the enclosed instruction book!"

Mario shook the letter and, somehow, an instruction book fell out of it.

Stuffwell: Travesty! The strangest wave of deja vu has just washed over me.

Toadsworth: Well, Master Mario? Don't keep us in suspense. What does it say?

Bowser: "Now that we've gotten the references out of the way, here is my demand. Bring all of the Chaos Emeralds that you have collected to the drop-off point listed below. If you don't agree to my terms, you'll never see your precious Princess Peach ever again! BWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH !"

Toadsworth: I say! I never really understood why villains always laugh like that.

Sonic: Never mind that. What I want to know is how he found out about the Chaos Emeralds.

Stuffwell: It would appear King Koopa has been doing his research. Nut the real question is, shall we follow his heinous demands?

Mario: Absolutely not!

Toadsworth: What? But...but...how will you ever get the princess back if you don't do as he says?

Mario: The same way I always do. Storm his evil lair, beat up all his minions and take Princess Peach back while Bowser's too unconscious to do anything about it.

Sonic: Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Good ol' "kick butt diplomacy!" Shadow and I will be glad to help you guys out. We'll definitely get her back if we work together.

Shadow suddenly had a vested interest in the conversation.

Shadow: Excuse me. I didn't get that last part amongst the mindless babbling.

Sonic: Huh? I said that we were going to help them rescue Princess Peach from Bowser.

Shadow: I see. Well, I'm going to put this as lightly as I can, Sonic.

Shadow roundhouse kicked Sonic in the face. The blue hedgehog was sent crashing into Mario and the wall behind him.

Shadow: FORGET IT!

Sonic got up and walked up to Shadow while Luigi checked to see if his brother was alright.

Sonic: What the heck is wrong with you? Can't you understand the crisis going on here?

Shadow: *hmph* Crisis? What crisis? That weakling woman isn't worth the dirt on your shoes.

Sonic: OK, that's it! I've had enough of your inflated ego and your lone-ranger attitude ever since we've arrived in this dimension! Mario and Luigi have selflessly helped us in our mission, so we should at least help them with theirs!

Shadow: Have you ever so conveniently forgotten about the consequences of failing our mission? Mecha Sonic is still out there, trying to find the two remaining Emeralds, yet you insist on giving him more time to do so! We would've already been done by now if you didn't bring those two deadbeat plumbers along with us.

Sonic: You know that's not true! We never would've come this far without their help!

Shadow: I told you that we should have kept a low profile in this dimension to avoid having irrelevant hang-ups slow us down, but you HAD to have them come along to try and help us. I only agreed because I thought that their knowledge of this world would be of some use to us. But since then, we have spent more time standing around doing nothing rather than focusing our efforts on what's REALLY important! Now, you want us to suspend our mission even further just to rescue some pathetic damsel!? Your absurd backwards sense of priority absolutely disgusts me!

Sonic: But we've already gotten five of the Emeralds! Even if Mecha Sonic finds the last two, we'll still have the upper hand!

Shadow: Hah! You couldn't beat him when he had NO Emeralds even with Mario helping you!

Sonic: That's exactly why all of us need to work together as a team, 'cause we can back each other up! That's why I'm choosing to help the Mario Bros. Because I'm not allowing any more innocent people getting hurt!

Shadow: Hmph! What difference will it make to save her, when this entire dimension will still be in jeopardy? Mecha Sonic is a shameless psychotic who would stop at nothing to carry out his objectives. You'd willingly sacrifice the lives of millions just to save one individual? Forget about her and let's get back to more important things like getting those Emeralds and destroying Mecha Sonic!

Sonic: Yeah, sure, just ditch everything for the Emeralds. If all this happened 50 years ago, you probably would've ditched Maria for the Emeralds since she's just as worthless, right?

Hearing that sparked a level of rage that Shadow rarely felt. He exploded with Chaos Energy, glaring at Sonic with nothing but sheer hate in his eyes.

Shadow: DAMN YOU, SONIC! She has nothing to do with this! And I don't need you trying to drag me back to an issue I've chosen to move on from! You will drop the subject here and now or I'll BLAST YOUR FREAKING HEAD OFF!

Yoshi, Stuffwell and the Mario Bros. were scared of the power radiating off Shadow's body. Toadsworth was so shocked he passed out again. They were even more scared of the look in Shadow's eyes, he actually looked like he was going to kill Sonic at this very moment. But Sonic didn't panic. All he did was sigh in disappointment over what his friend had become.

Sonic: Man, I've never seen you this out of character. I mean, I knew you were a lone wolf, but I never thought of you as a heartless monster. You NEVER used to get this angry this easily. In fact, you're one of the most compassionate people I know, and you proved that to me back during the battle aboard the Space Colony ARK. You never fought out of pride or amusement; it was always for the ones you loved and cared about, like Maria.

Shadow:Don't. Push me. Any further! I won't hesitate to destroy you too!

Sonic: I'm fighting for the same reason, for all of my friends who were killed by Mecha Sonic that fateful day, and the same goes for Mario and Luigi, who fight to defend those they care about. But ever since we came here, it seems all you've been thinking about is destroying Mecha Sonic by yourself and taking your anger out on anyone who won't let you do that as quickly as possible. Between the two of us, I think I have more of a reason to be aggressive and hateful. I want to understand Shadow, but I need you to be honest with me. Did something happen between you and Mecha Sonic back on Mobius that's causing you to be this way?

Sonic's words sparked a vision within Shadow. A vision of a world on fire. Of one close friend torn in half beside him. And another one lying in his arms.

Rouge: Shadow...

Shadow: Huh!

The memory of the only friends Shadow ever had in the past 50 years was enough to calm him down and dispel the Chaos Energy surging around him.

Shadow: *sigh* Very well, I won't object to your desire to help Peach anymore. Go! Now! You five don't have much time!

Sonic: What? But what about you?

Shadow: This is where we part ways, Sonic. Our journey has reached a crossroads and I must take a different path.

Sonic: N-no way! Like it or not, we're still a team. Shadow, you don't need to face your problems alone anymore! We'll get through this together!

Shadow: ...I'm sorry. I can't. This is a matter that only I can deal with and we'll only end up getting in each other's way. You were right about one thing, though. I am a lone wolf, and that's what I will be from now on. Good luck with your future endeavors, guys. Farewell.

Sonic: No! Shadow! Come back!

Stuffwell: Do not worry, Master Sonic. I surmise he merely requires time alone. We should be grateful that he has already done very much for us and that he has not meant a tragic end.

Sonic said nothing. Although he agreed with Stuffwell, he was still disappointed at Shadow for leaving.

Stuffwell: But for now, Masters, we must not delay. I propose we make haste for the Professor's laboratory, where he may be able to assist us in the rescue of the princess.

The heroes left the house for the Professor's lab, save for Mario who stayed behind to comfort Sonic.

Mario: Sonic, I know that you were counting on Shadow to help us. But in his own way, he still is. Of course, we have to save Princess Peach, but someone still has to save the world. And once the rescue mission is over, we'll continue the Emerald hunt and regroup in no time. Like Stuffwell said, he just needs some time alone. We'll be one mean fighting unit again before you know it! You just gotta be patient, okay?

Sonic: ...Yeah...Let's go...

Sonic and Mario followed the others out of Mario's house. Just as they did, Toadsworth got up and looked around to see that he was all alone. He saw our group heading off and chased after them.

"Wait!" Toadsworth cried. "Wait for me!"

Our heroes obeyed and turned towards Toadsworth as he caught up to them. Toadsworth panted heavily before pulling a large pink parasol from his back and presented it to Mario.

"In her shock, the princess dropped this and was unable to retrieve it before she was taken. If it is not too much trouble Master Mario, I humbly ask that you return this when you find her."

Mario grabbed the parasol and tucked it away.

"I'll make sure she gets this back," Mario promised.

"Oh, thank you Master Mario. May the Star Spirits watch over you and your comrades on your journey."

"Speaking of," Yoshi interjected, "shouldn't we get back to the professor?"

"He's right," Luigi added. "Time's a-wastin'!"

"So long, Toadsworth," Mario said before heading off to the professor's lab with the others.

"We shall hold a grand festival upon your return!" Toadsworth shouted.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Sonic shouted back.

As our heroes left, Toadsworth had the rest of the kingdom already making preparations, confident that Mario will succeed.

* * *

Our five remaining heroes arrive in Professor E. Gadd's lab, with the eponymous professor in deep concentration working on something.

Stuffwell: Greetings, Professor.

E. Gadd: Ah! Greetings, adventurers. How nice of you to drop by for a visit. How may I assist you?

Stuffwell: We appear to be in a dire predicament as the princess has been abductified by King Koopa.

E. Gadd: Yes, I'm aware of that. Not surprisingly, the citizens of Toad Town aren't panicking as they're probably used to this by now. I bet every newscaster will be watching this unfold and making fun of it the next day.

Stuffwell: Umm...yes... though it does not change the factuals that Bowser's actions have ground our Emerald-hunting objectives to a halt. I have witnessed firsthand the destructive power of Mecha Sonic, and he is still a very big threat to the safety of the Mushroom Kingdom. We must safe her with all speed, so we may resumify our mission. Any assistance on your behalf will be greatly appreciated.

E. Gadd: Haha, don't worry, my trust assistant. I had anticipated such a situation, so I went downtown to pick up some supplies for your daring rescue.

Mario: What sort of supplies, exactly?

E. Gadd: Oh, the usual. A few 1-up mushrooms, a fire flower, and other various bits and pieces that I could get my hands on. In any case, I left them down in the basement before I could get to work upgrading your old Sky Pop machine.

Mario: That's wonderful! I hadn't seen that thing in ages!

E. Gadd: By the way, whatever happened to your friend, Shadow?

Sonic: Oh, him... We had a disagreement and he left us. No need to worry. He'll be fine. But enough about him, what's this "Sky Pop" thing you were talking about?

E. Gadd: Ah, You'll see soon enough. Now then, Stuffwell, Sonic, and Yoshi, please come with me outside. Mario and Luigi, You'll find the new Sky Pop and your supplies in the basement. See you in a mo'.

Mario and Luigi headed in the direction opposite of the others. They took an elevator downstairs to the basement and collected every power-up they could find. Then they hopped onto the new and improved Sky Pop just before it was lifted up out of the basement and just outside the Professor's lab.

E. Gadd: Here we are, gentlemen. Allow me to introduce you to the Sky Pop Mark II! With the modifications that I've made, you will have no problem reaching Bowser's airship.

Sonic: Ohhhhh, a plane! Heh, I should've guessed from its name. We'll rescue Peach for sure now!

Stuffwell: Magniferous! This will surely aid in our mission and our Emerald quest, Professor. Your genius knows no bounds!

E. Gadd: Now now, Stuffwell, I didn't program you for flattery. Even if that last statement was correct. In any case, you'd better hop on board while I initiate the launching sequence.

Everyone else climbed aboard the Sky Hop. Since Mario and Luigi already took the seats, Sonic and Yoshi sat on top of the wings of the plane while Stuffwell rested on Luigi's lap.

Sonic: This is great and all, Professor, but I can't see how we're gonna take off without a runway.

E. Gadd: Ohohohohoho! My dear boy, I have something far better than a runway. Just hold on tight.

Professor Gadd pulled out a remote control and pressed a button and the ground in front of and behind the Sky Pop pulled away so that two large mechanical hands would rise up. One was holding a slingshot and one picked up the plane and set it up to fire it like a naughty child firing a stone.

Sonic: Woah! What in the-?!

E. Gadd: I wish you all the very best of luck, boys! Bon voyage!

Mario: Mamma Mia!

As the hand let go and the slingshot fired them into the sky, our heroes clung for dear life as they flew over the clouds. Just as they were descending, Mario got the Sky Pop on and flying before they could hit the ground. After that, it was smooth sailing s our heroes searched for Bowser's airship.

Sonic: Heh, the professor and his nutty contraptions. Man, being here reminds me of when Tails and I used to fly around Mobius on the Tornado.

As he spoke, Sonic's voice became increasingly melancholic as he went on.

Sonic: Those were good times. Yup...good times...

Mario: Sonic, are you alright?

Sonic: Yeah, I'll be okay. Now, let's find that Doomship and rescue Peach.

* * *

Off in the distance, atop the highest cliff around them, two figures were spying on our heroes through a pair of binoculars. These two were, of course, the Wario Bros. Wario was dangling Waluigi off a cliff by the seat of his pants while he searched for the Sky Pop. As soon as Waluigi got it in his sights, he told his brother that he located the heroes.

Wario picked Waluigi up and threw him at the direction of the plane. Waluigi screamed but as he looked up and saw him getting closer and closer to the heroes and their precious Chaos Emeralds, his panic turned to smug satisfaction. But just as he was nearing the Sky Pop's path, he stopped dead in his tracks and the Sky Pop flew by him with its passengers not even acknowledging his existence.

Waluigi tried to keep himself up, but gravity won in the end and he fell to the ground, muttering obscenities on the way down until he plummeted.

Wario: Er...mm...sorry.

* * *

Sonic: Alright, Mario. That's gotta be it.

After several hours of flying, our heroes have noticed a giant, green airship covered head to toe in weapons. This was, without a doubt, the Omega Doomship that Toadsworth described. Within the throne room of the Doomship, Bowser sat with his new benefactor standing at his left and Princess Peach dangling off a rope at his right.

Bowser: I have to give you credit, old man. This new Doomship is quite the vessel. Bwah hah hah! We didn't even have to use force! Just one look at this ship and those fungus freaks were running for the hills!

?: I'm glad you approve, sire. Now that we have their princess, the Emeralds are as good as ours!

Bowser: What did you say?

?: Uh...I...I mean, they'll be as good as yours! All yours! Sorry. I should remember to keep our agreement in mind more often.

Bowser: You better! As long as one of us is alive, our Two-Shell Treaty is in effect. And since YOUR terms said that you'd always acknowledge me as your superior, I expect you to do so! As for you, Princess, I hope you don't mind "hanging around" in my new Doomship for a while! Hahah!

Peach: You just never learn, do you, Bowser? Mario will come for me and you'll be sorry!

Bowser: Hah! I have technology on my side this time! Even if Mario manages to make his way up here, I have a big surprise for him!

Peach: You couldn't even beat him when you had the Star Rod! Just please stop this and let me go...pleeeaaase?

Bowser: My dear Princess, you should know by know that politeness only works when you have the upper hand. You WILL be held here as insurance in case the Chaos Emeralds aren't handed over right away. But once Mario's game is over and they're mine, I'll-

Before he could finish his sentence, a screen lowered from the ceiling and stopped in front of his face. A Koopatrol soldier appeared on it.

Koopatrol: Excuse me, Lord Bowser. We've detected an unidentified flying object heading-

Bowser: YOU IMBECILES! How many times have I told you not to interrupt my long evil rants?!

Bowser yelled so loud that it knocked back the Koopatrols communicating with him on the other side of the screen.

Koopatrol: We're deeply sorry, my lord, but we're getting a large signal on the scopes! This thing's coming at us at full speed!

Bowser: Bah!Very well. Put it up on the main screen.

Koopatrol: Main screen turn on.

Bowser: NINCOMKOOPAS! What did I tell you about obscure video game references!?

Koopatrol: Sorry, I couldn't resist. Putting it on visual...now!

Another screen descended in front of Bowser, this time it was larger and covered the majority of the window. The screen showed the same gray clouds the window showed, the only difference was a small speck off in the distance.

Bowser: Zoom farther!

The camera zoomed in until all that was on the screen was Mario's eyes, freaking out everyone in the throne room.

?: Gah! Too far!

Bowser: Idiots! Stop messing around! Zoom out!

The camera pans away to show Mario and the others flying on the Sky Pop Mark II, heading straight for the Doomship.

Peach: Mario!

Bowser: What the? How did he-? When did he get a fighter plane!?

After briefly collecting his thoughts, Bowser laughed in triumph

Bowser: Excellent! Looks like he took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. Now all that's left to do is to reel him in. Mario will experience the awesome power of my Omega Doomship!

The Koopatrol that was on-screen was replaced by a new more intimidating-looking creature. Rather than grey, his armor was pitch-black. His scales were bone-white and his eyes were only visible due to their unearthly red glow.

Bowser: Captain Basilisx, status report on the onboard defense systems!

Basilisx: All on ssssschedule, sssssir. The Doom Cannon isssss now online and functioning nicccccely. Am I to have it fire at sssssomething?

Bowser: You betcha. Mario and his gang are coming at us from the bow. Charge up the Cannon, aim well, and fire when ready, Captain.

Basilisx: Sssssir, I'll have thossssse peddlersssss shot clear out of the sssssky.

Peach: Nooooo!

The Omega Doomship's largest cannon a.k.a the Doom Cannon, was built directly underneath it. It was a large muzzle that charged with energy whenever it was used to fire at something. And now it had it's sites squared straight at our heroes.

* * *

 _I wish I could offer an excuse for why this chapter was so late other than sheer laziness. But I can't, so I won't bother. Is Zero Wing obscure? It seems to me that the only part people remember about it is the terrible translation._

 _Also, AlvinEarthworm said he wasn't going to use Basilisx in his reboot, but I think he's cool and wanted him in here. Also, I have some ideas of my own for the character. You'll have to find out what those ideas are by keep reading this reboot. The next chapter will be the conclusion of the final episode. After that, it's all me. So wish me luck._

 _P.S. Do you think I should write the dialogue the way I wrote it in the first couple of chapters or is it fine as is?_


	20. The Great Doomship Offensive-Part 2

The Doom Cannon fired an energy beam a mile long and half as wide as the Omega Doomship. Our heroes panicked as they saw it approaching them at breakneck speeds.

Sonic: AHHH! INCOMING!

Stuffwell: DO A BARREL ROLL!

Mario just managed to pilot the plane out of the way before the beam could obliterate them. Mario set the plane back up-right and continued heading for the Doomship.

Sonic: Oh, man! They almost roasted us back there!

Stuffwell: Travesty! Where did King Koopa acquire such technology!

* * *

Bowser: Gah! How could the Cannon miss them?!

Basilisx: I don't know. The peddlersssss should not have been able to outmaneuver a shot of that sssssizzzzze.

Bowser: Fire at them again! I want them blown to smithereens! Then we'll go down and take the Emeralds off their fried corpses!

Basilisx: You heard him, sssssoldier. Fire again!

The Koopatroopa beside him tried to fire the Doom Cannon but he found himself unable to.

Koopatroopa: The button's stuck, sir! I can't press it down!

Basisx: What? Forccccce it down, then. Make it work!

Koopatroopa: I just can't, Captain. I'm not strong enough.

Basilisx stared at the Koopatroopa and his eyes turned from red to blue and the Koopatroopa turned to solid stone! Basilisx shoved the statue of the Koopatroopa and took his place.

Basilisx: Ssssstupid fool. I'll get it to work myssssself.

Basilisx punched the button and the Doom Cannon fired a second time.

* * *

Sonic: MARIO! TO THE LEFT! TO THE LEFT!

Mario performed another barrel roll and dodged the second blast.

Sonic: Ugh! We're sitting ducks out here if we can't stop those blasts! We gotta do something!

Stuffwell: Mario! It is imperative that we move out of their cannon's blast radius! Ascend and we can try executing an aerial assault!

Mario followed Stuffwell's instructions and lifted the plane higher and out of the Doom Cannon's range.

* * *

Bowser: This is getting annoying! How is that tiny thing flying so fast?!

Basilisx: Forget that, sssssir. The peddlersssss are ssssstill coming.

Bowser: Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious! Now, stop acting so emotionless and SHOOT THEM!

Basilisx: No can do, now. They've flown above itsssss range.

Bowser slammed his fist onto the armrest.

Bowser: Rrrrrgh, curse that Mario! Captain, you get up on the ship and be ready to defend the Doomship! Send the order to all onboard troops to do the same and deploy the Bullet Bill squad while you're at it! We'll pin 'em down with brute force!

Basilisx: Done. The ordersssss have been issued. We shall prevail, sssssir.

Basilisx signed out and Bowser heard the voice of one of his five least favorite people.

Kammy: Your Frustratedness, we all need our orders too!

Bowser turned to see Kammy and Kamek hovering above all eight of Bowser's kids, all ready to do their part to take down Mario.

Roy: Yeah, King Dad! Let us at Mario, too! We've all got a bone to pick with that mushroom-munchin' plumber!

Bowser: Fine. You kids get down to the deck and you Magikoopas go with them and follow their orders. If Basilisx and the troops should fail, take no prisoners, show no mercy, and leave no evidence!

Bowser Jr.: You got it, Papa! Let's move out, gang!

The mysterious benefactor was still staring at the screen showing the Sky Pop Mark II. His eyes were glued to a certain blue hedgehog riding on the plane's right wing. He turned and walked towards the elevator out of the room.

Bowser: Now, where are YOU going, old man? Don't even THINK about jumping ship on us.

?: Don't let it concern you, my liege. I just have a few loose ends that I need to tie up.

The doors closed and the scientist descended to parts unknown.

* * *

Speaker: All hands on deck! All hands on deck! Mario has been located above the Doomship! Initiate immediate plumber countermeasures! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!

As the voice from the speakers blared, hundreds of Koopatrols were readying every weapon in the ship's armory. Soldiers carried Bullet Bill Blasters out to the deck and aimed them at the Sky Pop. Bullet Bills shot out of the cannons at ramming speeds. Sonic heard the explosion of the Blasters going off and looked down.

Sonic: NOW what?

Sonic held for dear life as Mario piloted the plane out of the way to avoid getting hit.

Sonic: That's it! Time for a counter-attack! I'm sick of being target practice! Who's with me?

Mario nodded and turned to his brother.

Mario: Luigi, take the wheel.

Mario took off his helmet and jumped on the front of the plane. Luigi quickly sat in Mario's seat and started piloting. Mario pulled his hat back on and turned to Sonic.

Mario: Let's a-go!

The two of them jumped off their plane and fell, aiming to land on the Doomship. Out heroes tried to dodge every Bullet Bill fired at them but once it became too much, they decided to take them out before they could take out our heroes. Mario pulled out his hammer and whacked as many Bills as he could while Sonic took them down with kicks and Spin Attacks.

Sonic hopped on top of a Bill and started riding him like a snowboard and Mario used a super leaf to become Raccoon Mario and the two of them flew straight down at the Omega Doomship before lifting up just before they hit the hull and charging straight for the main deck. Sonic jumped off the Bullet Bill, sending it crashing into a couple of Koopatrols below. Mario grabbed him and flew them just out of the way of several more Bullet Bills before spinning Sonic around and using him like a hammer to beat several Bills, Koopas, Goombas, and Bob-ombs before throwing Sonic and having him knock down several more soldiers like a spiky blue bowling ball. As he ran along the hull, Sonic uncurled to take out his enemies with kicks and spin attacks and continued his relentless charge just as Mario landed beside him and grabbed a falling Bob-omb. Mario kicked it, and the little explosive landed right inside one of the Bill Blasters. The Koopatrols could only utter a scream of terror before the Bob-omb exploded, taking out all the Blasters as well as the soldiers manning them.

A pair of Hammer Bros. chucked as many weapons as they could at these two, but they blocked every one of them, Sonic with his kicks and Mario with his own hammer, never once slowing down, even while knocking out every enemy in their way. After blasting away a swarm of enemies with a shockwave attack, Sonic jumped up and grabbed Mario's hands as he flew over him and the two stopped just under the platform the Hammer Bros. were standing on. Sonic curled up into a ball and spun around Mario, faster and faster, until he created a mini tornado that carried both him and Mario up to the Hammer Bros. Mario then smacked Sonic like a volleyball, crashing him into the two Koopas.

On the ground, the Koopas were helpless as Sonic knocked them around faster than they could blink. And when Sonic kicked them into the air, they were still just as helpless as Mario beat them senseless, ending the fight by grabbing one of them and dragging him down with him with enough momentum for Mario to throw him through the metal below.

With the main deck clear of villains, Luigi was able to fly the Sky Pop closer. Luigi fired a missile into another part of the ship and blasted a hole through it. Luigi and Yoshi jumped out of the plane and took off running, plowing their legions of Koopatroopas in their way until they made it to the ship's hangar, where dozens of planes and crates of explosives were located. Along with hundreds of Koopatroopas. Luigi and Yoshi stopped dead in their tracks, scared out of their minds by the army in front of them. Luigi tried to laugh the whole thing off.

Luigi: Oh hahahaha! Well, this is embarrassing! My Yoshi and I were just looking for the, uh, the-the bathroom! Yeah, so if you would be so kind as to point us the right way we'll just get out of your hair, or whatever it is Koopas have, so you could go back to doing what you're doing! Alright?

Beat.

They weren't buying it.

Koopatroopa: Get them!

The Koopatroopas stampeded towards Luigi and Yoshi. Yoshi threw an egg at them while Luigi tried to pull out a fire flower to help, but it was too late. The two of them were carried off by the crowd and the fire flower was lost. The two of them were thrown to the ground and a pair of Koopatroopas tried to finish them off but Sonic and Mario showed up just in the nick of time. Mario carried his wounded friends to the catwalk above them while Sonic dealt with the forces below.

After checking that his brother was alright, Mario gave him a Tanuki Suit that turned him into Kitsune Luigi. The two brothers amped each other up as they raced ahead for a fight, with Yoshi right behind them.

Back on the ground, one of the Koopatroopas was trying to make off with the fire flower but Sonic knocked it out of his hands and grabbed it. He looked behind him and saw a swarm of soldiers coming at him. He tried to run away but even more soldiers were right in front of him. Sonic leaped over them and tried to jump on their heads while avoiding them, but there were just too many. One of them managed to tackle Sonic mid-air sending them both crashing into the side of a crate full of bob-ombs.

Sonic looked up in terror as the fire flower was about to land in it.

Sonic: Nooooooo!

One Bob-omb saw the fire flower and detonated. This caused all his fellow bob-ombs with him to go off at the same time, releasing an explosion that sent Sonic flying.

As Sonic fell, he opened his eyes and saw the fire flower still intact. With that, he immediately realized what he should do to win. Homing in on the flower, Sonic grabbed it and absorbed it's pyromatic abilities. A trail of fire followed him as he flew around before landing with enough force to leave a small crater under his feet. The Koopatroopas and the Mario gang watched him, scared and in awe as they took in Sonic's transformation.

His fur had become a deep crimson, his spikes pointed upwards, and as he opened his eyes, they were changed from a verdant green to gold, brimming with power. Sonic the Hedgehog had become Fire Sonic!

Fire Sonic took off towards the enemy forces, fire surrounding him as if he were the sun itself. He sped through a platoon of Koopatroopas, knocking them up in the air and bringing them down with a series of hyper-speed kicks and fire balls. Sonic shot more fire into another platoon, blowing them out of his way. He took another one down with a charged shot and knocked out some more by jumping up and plummeting straight towards them.

He ran even faster, as more soldiers moved to stop him. But those that could even react fast enough to try were either dodged or simply knocked out of the way before Sonic laid his eyes on another platoon and literally ran circles around them, trapping them in a ring of fire. Sonic stepped out of the ring, and with a snap of his fingers, it became a flaming tornado! With all those Koopas in the sky, Sonic grabbed the opportunity to leap up while they were defenseless and wailed on them, punching and beating them with enough force, Koopatroopas were crashing all over the room.

As one Koopatroopa crashed headfirst through the catwalk, leaving his head sticking out in a dazed stupor, Luigi helped him get unstuck by smashing him with a hammer. Luigi was boasting about this victory before he noticed another Koopatroopa heading towards him. Using his Kitsune powers, Luigi turned into a statue and the soldier collided headfirst into solid stone. Mario arrived and used his brother like a bat to swat the enemy away. He ran forward, taking down Koopatroopas by bludgeoning them with his brothers stone body before throwing him up in the air and beating them back with spins and punches. He uppercutted one enemy into the air once, twice, three times before hitting him with his tail and leaving a second hole into the catwalk. A third hole was created as another Koopatroopa charged at Mario just as Luigi landed on him, knocking him through the floor.

Yoshi jumped in and swallowed Luigi, laying a giant egg that Mario hit with his hammer full force. The egg rolled through dozens of soldiers before Luigi finished off the last one with a straight uppercut before transforming into an 8 ton weight that Mario rode onto the ground floor, squashing one Koopatroopa and lifting the rest of the platoon off the ground. Luigi turned back to normal and the two brothers were ready to finish them off.

Mario and Luigi: Here we go!

The two of them grabbed each others arms and spun around, dealing blows to two of the Koopatroopas before throwing each other into the last two. With the platoon finished, Mario spun Luigi around and threw him into another one. Luigi performed a green missile, knocking half a dozen guys into a crate full of weapons and then turning back into a statue so that Sonic could grab him and plow through those soldiers to go fight some more. He used Luigi like a bat before making him a part of his spin dash attack, giving him longer range and mowing down enemies like a buzz-saw.

Sonic threw Luigi up and Yoshi grabbed him with his tongue and crashed him headfirst into the ground. Using Luigi like a pole, Yoshi was able to keep his momentum as he launched himself towards his enemies. He delivered a flying kick towards one Koopa before spinning back around and doing the same thing to two more. He repeated this process until his tongue was firmly wrapped around the Luigi statue. Yoshi pulled him out of the floor and threw him at some more enemies. Luigi spun like a top, crashing into foes before turning back to normal and landing on his face.

Mario flew towards the last bunch of foes before one peculiar Koopatroopa curled up into his shell and jumped at Mario, stopping him dead in his tracks and sending him back where he came from. Mario managed to land safely, but the blow took away his power-up and he turned back to normal. Mario growled in frustration as he turned to see who attacked him.

Koopatroopa: C-Captain Basilisx! Thank Goodness you're here!

Basilisx: Ssssstand down, men. I shall deal with thessssse peddlersssss myssssself.

Sonic: You're gonna wish you hadn't done that, snake spit! We've beaten virtually your entire army! So what makes you think you can stand a chance against all of us by yourself?

Basilisx: Sssssilenccccce little fool. You aren't even worth my time. Thisssss fight isssss between me and Mario. Ssssso, if you don't mind, I sssssuggessssst you three sssssit thisssss one out.

Basilisx eyes turned Blue and Sonic, Luigi and Yoshi turned to stone. Mario looked around and panicked as his friends have become statues.

Mario: Oh no!

But he didn't have enough time to worry for their sakes as he looked up and saw Basilisx trying to attack him. Mario jumped out of the way in the nick of time.

Basilisx: Ssssso, at last we meet, Mario. I have waited long for the day that I could finally faccccce you in mortal combat. None of your friendsssss can interrupt our bout now that I have turned them all to ssssstone.

Mario: Who are you?

Basilisx: My name is Basssssilisssssxxxxx, the new captain pf King Bowssssser'sssss Koopa Guard. I mussssst commend you for making it passssst all my troopsssss, but it wasssss all in vain. I challenge you to a duel! I shall defeat you to avenge the Koopa Klan and all of the Brave Koopasssss that you have ssssso callousssssly ssssstomped upon. Including my bessssst friend!

Mario: Am I supposed to know who that is?

Basilisx: Don't feign ignoranccccce with me, you missssserable plumber! he wasssss ssssstationed in Bowssssser'sssss Cassssstle in Dinosssssaur Land many yearsssss back. Room 2, Koopa #3. Don't you remember?

Mario: Mm-mm. Though in my defense, I've beaten up a lot of Koopa's back at Dinosaur Land.

Basilisx: Not only did you crush hisssss shell, but you kicked him into the lava, too. Now, for the sssssake of all the beingsssss that have sssssuffered becaussssse of your mindlesssss actionsssss, I shall be victoriousssss. I could sssssimply turn you to ssssstone and grind you into dussssst, but I would rather take delight in licking your blood off my claws after the battle. The Underwhere awaits you!

Three razor sharp claws appeared out of both of Basilisx' hands and he got into battle position. Mario, in turn, put on the hammer suit and readied his weapons.

Mario: Let's a-go!

The two charged at each other and went at it with everything they had. But every time Basilisx tried to cut or stab Mario or Mario would pummel Basilisx, the other would just defend. This went on until the two were both holding back the other's blows. Then Basilisx stretched out his arms, pushing Mario back and leaving him open for Basilisx' claws. But Mario hid inside his hat just in time. Basilisx unleashed a flurry of clawed fists at the plumber but they didn't pierce.

They did however, push him back far enough for Basilisx to perform another leap attack but Mario jumped out and landed right behind Basilisx, just before the Koopa had swung his claws. Mario brought Basilisx down with his hammers and knocked him further away. Basilisx got up only to get pummele by a flurry of hammers which ended with Mario knocking Basilisx intot he air and bringing him back down.

But Basilisx just hid in his shell right before impact and landed gracefully. Mario rushed after him, but Basilisx began to glow with a red aura and released a shock wave right before Mario reached him. Mario was protected by the suit's shell and landed no worse for wear. He started throwing dozens of hammers Basilisx' way, but the mutated Koopatroopa ducked, dodged and sliced his way through all of them as he ran straight towards Mario.

Mario tried to hit him but Basilisx leaped over him and attacked from behind. Mario saw this coming and the two of them attempted to defeat the other with their spinning attacks. As they spun, the force lifted them up to the catwalk and the two continued their battle there. The two of them chased each other, with Mario on the platform itself and Basilisx running on the rails. They repeatedly switched positions as they fought, culminating in them leaping in the air again and trying to destroy each other with stabs and blows.

Mario managed to land a hit and used Basilisx' momentary vulnerability to hammer him back to ground level with enough force to leave a crater. Basilisx jumped out of the crater and remembered Mario's petrified friends. When Mario landed, he saw that Basilisx has grabbed Luigi and took him hostage.

Mario: Oh no!

Basilisx rushed forward and smacked Mario with his own brother. Unwilling to hurt his little bro, Mario was helpless as Basilisx beat him over and over and over, finishing with a blow that lifted him off his feet. Basilisx dropped Luigi and jumped high. He pulled out two Poison Mushrooms and threw them at Mario; one to remove his suit and one to poison him. To ill to fight back, Basilisx stopped seized his moment.

Basilisx: You're mine.

Faster than the eye could see, Basilisx slashed at Mario again and again before finishing with a body slam.

Mario had lost.

Basilisx: Ssssso, it endsssss. And I am the lassssst one ssssstanding.

Mario: *cough* You...coward...

Basilisx: You sssssniveling peddler. You have no right to be angry that I usssssed your brother to my advantage, essssspecially when you did the exact sssssame thing with y friend'sssss shell againssssst him and hisssss comradesssss that day. I couldn't even mourn him properly becaussssse he wasssss burnt to cccccindersssss. Well, I'll make sure no one will be able to mourn you properly, either. Your disssssgusssssting hypocrisssssy will vanish along with your hopesssss. Think about my wordsssss after I tosssss your sssssevered head into your grave!

* * *

Bowser and Peach watched everything that transpired through the screen in Bowser's throne room.

Bowser: Well well well, the old man's emotionless experiment sure performed better than the lab reports predicted! And to think all that beefed him up was one tiny, little needle! Too bad now I don't have anything to sic my secret weapon on anymore. Oh, well! Looks like the show's over my dear Princess! Now, you get to watch my top soldier turn your precious Mario into kibble for my chain chomps! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Peach: NO! Mario! You have to get up! Please, Mario!

* * *

 _ **In their brave bid to save Peach, it would appear that our heroes have bitten off more than they can chew!**_

 _ **With no help in sight, Basilisx looks set to single-handedly end our heroes' quest to save Peach and defend their Chaos Emeralds!**_

 _ **What is the secret to Basilisx amazing fighting potential?**_

 _ **And have Mario's guardian angels really left him to the judgement of this demonic supersoldier?**_

 _ **Find out in the next exciting episode of Super Mario Bros. Z!**_

* * *

 _I am so sorry it took this long to update. I wish I could say i had shit going on but I was just lazy. Well, no more! From now on, if I'm late it's because I had to do research on Mario, Sonic, or DBZ to give you guys the show you deserve!_

 _From here on out, no more adapting Alvin's work. There are still ideas from his wiki that I will be adapting into this reboot, but other than that, it's be entirely my own story. I can't wait to tell it to you all! And just wait until you see what I have plan for Basilisx! See ya soon!_


	21. The Two-Shell Treaty-Part 1

On the beach of a seemingly uninhabited island filled with jungle surrounding a large volcano, Shadow stands alone. His mind wanders to days long past, as he gazes upon the thick vegetation in front of him. He pulls out a locket with a small heart on it and thinks about the closest thing he's had to a friend in over 50 years. Shadow sighs as he considers whether or not she would approve his decision.

"Rouge," Shadow says, "was it right of me to leave the others like I did?"

He clenches his fist and tries to push down the doubt.

"No! I can't go back on my decision now! What's done is done!" Sonic can take care of himself! I need to concentrate on what's more important. And that's finding the Chaos Emeralds and destroying Mecha Sonic once and for all! He'll pay dearly for what he's done. For what he did to me! I swear it! I know the sixth Emerald is around here somewhere. I must find it quickly."

Shadow closed his eyes and focused on pinpointing the location of the sixth Chaos Emerald. But then he heard the unmistakable whistle of a missile coming right at him. Shadow dodged just in time, before the missile hit where he was standing and exploded.

Shadow looked back and saw the source of the missile, the unmistakable visage of Turbo Mecha Sonic. Mecha Sonic let out an evil laugh before speaking to the black and red hedgehog.

"Hello there, Shadow." Mecha Sonic greeted. "Fancy meeting you out here in the middle of nowhere all by your lonesome. Finally decided to ditch your worthless friends to look for the last few Chaos Emeralds?"

"That's none of your business!" Shadow shouted. "Regardless, you saved me the trouble of looking for you. Now it's payback time, Mecha Sonic!"

"I would love to play games with you, Shadow, but I am on a tight schedule right now. So how about we cut to the part where you tell me where Sonic and my Chaos Emeralds are?

Instead of saying anything, Shadow charged himself with Chaos Energy and gave Mecha Sonic a death glare.

"In a loyal mood, are we? No matter. I'll just beat the information out of you instead. Show me what you've got, "Ultimate Life Form!"

* * *

Back on the Omega Doomship, Basilisx was one claw swipe away from finishing Mario.

"Ssssso Mario," Basilisx hissed, "any lassssst wordsssss before I banish you to the Underwhere?"

Mario was too ill to say anything, but Basilisx troops of Koopatroopas had plenty to say.

"WOO!"

"Yeah!"

"You da man...I mean Koopa, Captain Basilisx!"

"Finish him off, Captain!"

"You rock haaaardcoooore, Captain!"

* * *

Bowser and Peach also watched Basilisx preparing to kill Mario from the comfort of Bowser's throne room. Well, comfortable for Bowser, Peach was still tied up. Though they didn't share the soldiers' enthusiasm.

"What's the hold up, Basilisx!?" Bowser asked. "Stop hesitating and finish him off!"

"NO!" Peach yelled. "I can't watch!"

Peach shut her eyes, hoping that someone or something will save her hero.

* * *

"At lassssst," Basilisx hissed, "with one ssssswift ssssstrike, my comradesssss thirssssst for vengeanccccce shall be sssssated. Farewell, Sssssuper Mario!

As soon as hesaid that, Basilisx was knocked away by a hammer to the side of his face. Basilisx was hit with enough force, it sent him plowing through his troops like a bowling ball. The Koopatroopas had little time to do anything other than panic as their leader crashed into them.

* * *

Bowser: WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!?

* * *

The assailant was revealed to be Luigi, not stone, but alive and well in his Tanuki suit. Luigi turned to his brother and pulled a 1-up mushroom out of his suit. Mario opened his mouth wide and swallowed it and in a matter of seconds, he was back to full strength.

"Thanks, bro," Mario said. "That was just what I needed."

"Not a problem." Luigi replied.

"IMPOSSSSSIBLE!" Basilisx shouted. The mutant super-Koopa had recovered and was more angry than before. "How did you break free from your petrified prissssson!?

Wait a minute. That sssssily cossssstume. Ssssso that'sssss how you did it. You usssssed the powersssss of the Tanuki Sssssuit to free yourself. Pure dumb luck!"

"That's what you get for using me to hurt my brother!" Luigi shouted.

"Don't think you're in the clear yet. All your little ssssstunt did wasssss buy the two of you a few more minutesssss amongssssst the living! KOOPATROLSSSSS! ATTACK!"

* * *

 _About time I got this out of the way. This is the bit that Mark Haynes himself had for episode 9 before scrapping the whole show and starting over. From this I'll build an outline, not just for this episode but for the entire season as well. At least now I'll have an excuse for keeping you all waiting for so long._

 _I feel like I should point out that I'm still new to this, and while I'm trying to stay in touch with Mark Haynes vision, I'll still be putting in my own ideas. But this project isn't about just me, it's about all of us who loved Mark's work and wanted to see how it'd end. So if any of you have any ideas where this story should go, please tell me about them in the comment section and I will happily look it over._

 _Until next time!_


	22. The Two-Shell Treaty-Part 2

**Author's note: From now on, all authors notes will be done with Bold.**

 _All flashbacks will be done with italics._

 ** _And the "next time on SMBZ" bit will continue to be done by both._**

* * *

The Koopatrols have just recovered and began charging at our heroes. Before they swarmed them, Mario and Luigi leapt up to the catwalk and discussed their plan of action.

"Think you can a-take all those Koopatroopas by yourself?" Mario asked.

"Wait," Luigi said. "You're going to keep fighting Basilisx on your own? He almost killed you!"

"By using cheap tactics. I'm sure that he doesn't have any more Poison Mushrooms, so now he'll have to fight fairly. And besides..." Mario pulled out a Super Bell and turned into Cat Mario. Long, razor sharp claws appeared out of each finger, just as long and just as sharp as Basilisx'. "Basilisx isn't the only one with claws."

Luigi gave Mario a determined smile and looked down at the Koopatroopas below. There were only about a dozen or two left and they were all looking around wondering where the Mario Bros. went.

"Let's-a go!" Luigi said. Luigi shouted below "Yoohoo!"

All the Koopatroopas looked up just to see Luigi and the business end of his hammer barreling down at them like a meteor. They only had enough time to scream in panic before Luigi landed and they were all sent flying all over the armory.

"Wahoo! Go Luigi! Go Luigi! Go Luigi!"

"Missssserable little peddler!" Basilisx hissed as he leapt at Luigi, claws drawn to slice him to ribbons. But Mario put a stop to that by leaping off the catwalk himself and landing on Basilisx feet first. Mario leapt off the Super Koopa and stared him down. Basilisx growled as he got up and took a look at Mario's new outfit.

"It doesssssn't matter what sssssilly cossssstume you wear. All it will do isssss give me more reassssson to laugh at your grave!"

Mario crossed his arms over his chest and revealed his claws to Basilisx. He clawed the air in front of him with swift, elaborate strikes. Basilisx did not seem very impressed.

"Hmph. Allow me to show you how it'sssss done."

"Captain Basilisx!" A Koopatrol shouted. "We'll help you defeat Mario!"

"Leave him to me!" Basilisx shouted. "You're ordersssss are to apprehend the other one at all cossssstsssss. Underssssstand?"

"Yes sir! You've heard him everybody! CHARGE!"

And that's just what everyone did. As Basilisx and the Koopa soldiers charged at their respective enemies, so did Mario and Luigi charge at them.

* * *

Shadow had barely enough time to outrun the barrage of bullets Mecha Sonic fired.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow shouted before disappearing.

Mecha Sonic knew what Shadow was going to do. He was going to appear behind him to attack. So instead, Mecha Sonic turned around and delivered an uppercut just as Shadow appeared. Shadow was sent launching to the air and Mecha Sonic teleported after him. Before he could appear, Shadow opted to return the favor.

"Chaos Blast!" Shadow exploded with Chaos Energy just as Mecha Sonic appeared above him. The blast wasn't enough to seriously harm him, but it did push him back, giving Shadow enough time to warp back to the ground.

Mecha Sonic turned his arms into dual missile launchers and fired six missiles at Shadow's direction. Shadow dodged five of them. As for the sixth one, he caught it with his hands and stopped it from making contact with him. But just barely, as the missile kept going and Shadow had to struggle to keep it away from his face.

With all of his strength, he managed to turn it around, pointing it at Mecha Sonic, and let go, returning the missile back to its sender. Mecha Sonic turned his arm into a plasma cannon and fired a shot at the missile, destroying it. He then opened fire on Shadow with that energy cannon, peppering the beach with craters.

Having enough of Shadow dodging his attacks, Mecha Sonic charged right for him.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow shouted then threw a Chaos Spear directly at his enemy. But Mecha Sonic just warped out of its path and right behind Shadow, delivering a roundhouse kick to the back of the head. Shadow was sent sprawling through the sand. By the time he got up, he barely had enough time to dodge Mecha Sonic's next attack.

Mecha Sonic had shot his hand on an extending cable trying to grab him. But Shadow stepped out of the way and grabbed the cable. Shadow yanked it, trying to pull Mecha Sonic closer to him. It would've worked, if it hadn't been for Mecha Sonic activating his thrusters and stopping himself from falling to the ground.

A surge of electricity traveled through the cable and Shadow wasn't fast enough to let go in time. Shadow yelled in agony as he was being shocked, right before the cable started pulling back to Mecha Sonic with him in tow. Mecha Sonic threw Shadow off of him and into a large rock that was lying on the beach. Shadow left an impact on the rock before falling back into the sand.

Shadow got back up and glared at Mecha Sonic.

"Still standing?" Mecha Sonic asked. "I see you're still as hard to kill as you were back on Mobius. Which reminds me, I never did get to thank you for all the toys you and your worthless friends gave me that day."

Mecha Sonic's mocking of his friends made Shadow even angrier. He turned around and lifted the massive boulder he crashed into. And with a roar of rage, he threw it right at Mecha Sonic. But the robot just flew into it and smashed his way through as if it weren't even there. And something about that brought back certain memories of that day...

* * *

 _At the top secret facility owned by the Guardian Units of Nations known as the GUN Fortress, Shadow, Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega, recognized by the rest of G.U.N as "Team Dark", hid in the secret armory located at the bottom floor. This room stashed weaponry and vehicles that the world has never seen before. Things that would make a tank look like a wind-up car and an AK-47 like a water pistol._

 _There were only two things in this room more dangerous than its weapons: Team Dark themselves and the Chaos Emerald they were entrusted to guard with their lives._

 _Shadow paced as Rouge and Omega stood on guard, waiting for Mecha Sonic to burst through the reinforced doors. Rouge was the only one armed with one of the weapons, a type of automatic rifle that, instead of firing bullets, fired balls of charged plasma energy that expand exponentially on contact and fired 500 rounds a minute. The other two left the weapons alone, feeling that they were unnecessary for the Ultimate Life Form and the Ultimate E-Series Robot._

 _"Query." Omega stated. "Why must we remain here like cowards and wait for Designated Target: Mecha Sonic to come to us?"_

 _Shadow had stopped pacing._

 _"I agree." Shadow said. "The most powerful being in the world doesn't sit on the sidelines and let others fight their battles for him."_

 _"Might I remind you two," Rouge began, "that there is more at stake here than your egos?"_

 _Rouge pulled out the red Chaos Emerald. It glowed with powerful energy as she held it up to them._

 _"Mecha Sonic already has five of these. If he gets his hands on this one, he'll be one step closer to attaining perfection. And there won't be_ any _Life forms or E-series Robots capable of stopping him."_

 _"I still don't see why we can't go up there and take care of it now, rather than leaving what remains of G.U.N to die like dogs at the hands of Mecha Sonic." Shadow said._

 _As if to punctuate his point, faint gun fire and explosions could be heard in the levels above them, followed by screams of terror and pain._

 _"We're here because we're the most powerful G.U.N agents left. And these weapons are our best bet against that psychotic tin can. Speaking of which, I wish you'd take something to defend yourself. I could understand why the walking arsenal over there wouldn't need one..."_

 _"Compliment accepted." Omega said._

 _"...but I really don't get why you can't be bothered to just grab a gun."_

 _"They're beneath me," Shadow explained._

 _"Oh really? Well, I remember a point where they weren't too 'beneath you' to use. All the time."_

 _"Before, it seemed faster and more convenient to pull a trigger rather than shout 'Chaos Spear' repeatedly. But constantly having to reload became annoying. So I decided to fall back on what came naturally."_

 _"You do remember that you are about as natural as I am, correct?" Omega asked._

 _That managed to elicit a chuckle out of Rouge. "You two got me to laugh? It really must be the end of the world."_

 _The screams and the explosions were heard again, louder and closer this time._

 _"Mecha Sonic arrival: imminent." Omega said.  
_

 _Rouge gave Shadow the Chaos Emerald. She cocked her Plasma Rifle and pointed it at the door. Despite being a trained G.U.N agent who has taken on gods and monsters, Rouge was actually shaking as she held her gun. Shadow never saw Rouge of all people show fear before. He decided to help alleviate them the only way he knew how._

 _He walked up to a shelf where the guns were presented and spotted a simple pistol. A Glock 17 semi-automatic to be precise. He picked it up and expected it, looking for anything that might make it stand out. But he couldn't find anything special about it._

 _"I wonder what this is doing down here." Shadow said aloud._

 _Rouge turned and saw the pistol in Shadow's hand. "That's a taser." She explained._

 _"What?"_

 _"It's a high-power taser designed to look like a gun. Check the magazine."_

 _Shadow did as she instructed and saw that the magazine was actually a very powerful battery._

 _"That thing is supposed to have over a billion volts of electricity. Enough to conduct through, well, just about anything really. Perfect for dealing with body armor. It's literally like shooting lightning."_

 _"Not bad," Omega said, almost sounding impressed._

 _Shadow seemed to agree with him as he put the battery back in and took it with him._

 _The gunfire and explosions were now coming from outside the door. Not over their heads, but in the next room._

 _"Guys," Rouge started. "I just wanted to say, if this is it..." she seemed to hesitate on what to say next before deciding to blurt out what's on her mind. "If this is it, I'm happy that we became friends."_

 _Shadow wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. But, as Mecha Sonic came closer, there was only enough time for a curt "Likewise."_

 _"Affirmative," Omega said._

 _It might not seem like much, but Rouge knew that it meant a lot coming from these two._

 _Something started to bang the steel doors over and over again. With each knock, the door caved in more and more. Team Dark got in position for what was sure to be the fight of their lives._

 _Finally, the door gave way and Mecha Sonic flew in, guns blazing._

* * *

Shadow suddenly realized what it was about this moment that reminded him of back then. As Mecha Sonic smashed through the rock, he was armed with wrist-mounted mini-guns.

Omega's wrist-mounted mini-guns.

"Chaos Control!"

Shadow teleported just before Mecha Sonic opened fire. Mecha Sonic turned around and started shooting behind him, expecting Shadow to be there. But instead, Shadow warped to what would've been right in front of him and grabbed him from behind. Grunting, Shadow flipped the murderous robot over and kicked him into the sand beneath them.

"Chaos Lance!"

Shadow fired a Chaos Lance, a more powerful version of his Chaos Spear, directly at Mecha Sonic. The attack exploded as soon as it hit the ground.

Shadow landed right where the attack connected, standing at the very center of a deep black crater. He couldn't find any remains of Mecha Sonic, until he looked up and saw him standing a few yards in front of him. He was completely undamaged by the Chaos Lance, as he simply warped out of the way.

"I am going to make you suffer for what you've done!" Shadow shouted.

"Hah!" Mecha Sonic laughed. "Don't count on it, meat bag."

The two of them rushed towards each other. An explosion was created as these two's Chaos charged fists parried the other's.

* * *

Mario and Basilisx' faces were inches from each other as they both tried to slice the other while keeping their opponents claws away from them. The fury between them was palpable as they both tried to push the other fighter's claws away so they could finish them off.

Finally, the two combatants leapt back and tried to slash each other again. As they ran forward, Mario leapt over Basilisx' head and tried to claw him from behind, only for Basilisx, to block the attack with his own claws and then try to gut Mario. Mario leapt up and pounce only for for Basilisx to go inside his shell and jump, sending Mario crashing in the catwalk above, where he was stuck.

Basilisx crawled out of his shell and jumped straight for Mario, his claws positioned right in front of him to run through the portly plumber. Mario panicked for about a second before sticking his fingers through the little holes in the catwalk and pulling himself free, swinging to the topside where Basilisx' claws appeared right next to Mario's feet. Mario screamed as Basilisx pulled out a claw and repeatedly tried to stab Mario from the underside.

Having enough of this, Mario grabbed a set of claws and pulled, dragging Basilisx up and leaving a large hole right in front of Mario. Mario looked back and saw Basilisx landing gracefully, he then looked down at the cuts on his bleeding palms and fingers. Basilisx licked Mario's blood off of one of his claws and the two of them ran after each other, claws drawn a third time.

Back on the ground floor, Luigi was tackling the two dozen remaining Koopatroopas by himself. While nervous at first, Luigi had already beaten enough of these guys to know he shouldn't be too worried. He was proven right as soon as the fight began, where every single soldier had him surrounded. Two of them tried to jump Luigi from the side but Luigi turned himself into a statue and the soldiers ended up colliding head first into solid stone. As they fell back, Luigi turned back to normal and grabbed them by their ankles.

He spun around at high speed, letting them go and having them barrel through more enemies. This convinced the ones still standing to attack him all at once. Luigi jumped up and hopped off several of their heads, taking care to avoid the spikes, before landing outside the circle of enemies and running for it. The Koopatrols chased him until Luigi jumped off a crate and leapt back at them, hammer drawn. He spun around, taking down several of them before landing right behind them, winding up to smash the Koopatrol standing at the very back through the rest of his troop and into the crate, which just so happened to be full of Bob-ombs.

The explosion sent everyone around it flying, but Luigi took the form of a statue and wasn't hurt. He changed back while soaring through the air charging and striking all the Koopatrols that were soaring with him. After smacking one Koopatrol soldier, Luigi would leap to another until every last one of them hit the floor or a wall, sending the last one towards the ceiling.

Mario saw the rising Koopatrol and leapt off the catwalk. He then landed on the soldier and used him as a springboard to add more momentum to his next attack, a strike with his claws straight through Basilisx' heart. Basilisx leaned back as far as he could, avoiding the attack. Mario would've fell off the catwalk, but he grabbed a railing and swung himself back on. The two of them then had a massive claw fight, where neither of them truly had the advantage. If one would swipe, the other would block, if one would lunge, the other would jump back, only to lunge themselves just for their opponent to block.

On this went, the only noise these two made were the clang of their claws clashing into each other and their heavy breathing as they both became tired. Neither party would give up the fight and it seem like this stalemate would never end, until a shout was heard down below.

"MARIO!"

Mario looked down and saw his little brother being swarmed by Koopatrols directly beneath him. A few of the ones they defeated earlier regained consciousness and decided to help their fellow soldier overwhelm Luigi. And it worked, as Mario's sidekick found himself being surrounded by the Koopas. He fought back as hard as he could, but there were just too many of them. They all came closer and Luigi's hammer was barely putting a dent in their numbers.

"Mario," Luigi begged, "help a-me!"

Basilisx let out a sinister chuckle. "Well, your brother doesssssn't appear to be doing ssssso well, doesssss he?"

Mario tried to stab him through the eyes, but Basilisx just lifted one of his arms and redirected the strike away from, he then kicked Mario in the stomach, hard enough to back him up 15 ft away from him. Mario looked down and saw the Koopatrols dogpiling on his brother. He couldn't even see him anymore, buried under all those enemies.

"Mario..." Luigi muffled under the Koopas crushing him.

"Sssssoldiers! Desssssissssst at onccccce!"

Mario and the Koopas were shocked to hear Basilisx give such orders.

"But, sir-" a Koopa started.

"YOU HAVE YOUR ORDERSSSSS! FOLLOW THEM! GET OFF HIM AT ONCCCCCE! BUT HOLD HIM DOWN SSSSSO THAT HE DOESSSSS NOT ESSSSSCAPE!"

The Koopatrols followed their Captain's instructions without question. In mere seconds, the Koopas were off Luigi, minus eight that were holding down his arms and legs.

Mario turned to Basilisx, wondering where he was going with this.

"I'll make thisssss sssssimple, Sssssuper Mario. Sssssurrender your life now, and I'll ssssspare your brother. Otherwissssse, I'll give my sssssoldiersssss the order to rip him limb from limb!"

Mario eyes grew wide in shock from Basilisx' ultimatum. But instead of making a decision, Mario clenched his fists in anger.

"You..." Mario began, "first, the a-poison mushrooms and now this! You are a-nothing but a coward and a dirty cheater!"

"Don't you dare try to take the moral high ground! You've killed hundredsssss of Koopasssss!"

"Hundreds of Koopas that-a tried to kill ME! AND MY BROTHER! AND HELP YOUR BOSS KIDNAP MY BEST FRIEND! IF ANYONE HAS NO CLAIM TO THE MORAL HIGH GROUND, IT'S-A YOU! And I'm-a sorry you miss your friend. But honestly, there were so many Koopas in Dinosaur Land, I don't even remember kicking any of them into any lava!"

Hearing Mario dismiss the life of his best friend lit a spark inside Basilisx. Before, Basilisx fought this duel as a strategist, with every single strike and move carefully thought out, seeing his opponents actions and countering them accordingly. But now, all he could see was red. Basilisx roared and leapt towards Mario, his claws raised overhead. Mario jumped in front of him right before Basilisx landed, leaving him with nothing to cut except for the section of the catwalk Mario was standing on and the rails next to them.

Mario looked back and saw Basilisx seething with sheer hate. In his peripherals, Mario saw the ripped up catwalk and had an idea. Right before Basilisx xould stab him Mario jumped up and ran across the catwalk. Basilisx let out another yell and chase after him. Mario knew exactly where he needed to stop. He turned around and saw Basilisx gaining on him. Mario knew that he couldn't keep running for long, but the spot Mario needed to land on was just a few yards away.

Closer. Closer.

And about five feet from Mario slid and landed about thirty feet from where Basilisx sliced up the catwalk. Once again, Basilisx leapt and attempted to hack Mario to pieces. And once again Mario avoided it by leaping forward. Basilisx cut off this part of the catwalk as well. Basilisx let out deep rage-filled breaths before Mario pointed behind him. Looking back, Basilisx saw the cut off part of the catwalk. And looking in front of him Basilisx saw... another cut off part of the catwalk. Immediately, he realized what Mario was planning.

"You're dessssspicable!"

As soon as he said that, the cut off catwalk and Basilisx both fell to the ground below. Luigi and the Koopatrols both panicked as they saw it coming towards them. Luigi turned into a statue in the nick of time but the enemies could do little else aside stand there before the catwalk crushed them and sent the few that weren't crushed flying off from the impact.

Mario landed (feet-first, of course) next to his brother, whose statue form has bursted out of the catwalk as it landed.

"You alright, bro?" Mario asked.

Luigi turned back to normal and sat up. He gave his brother a thumbs-up and a triumphant laugh.

The celebration was cut short however as they heard Basilisx grunting and turned to see him getting up. Basilisx looked around him and noticed all the crushed and beaten Koopas. He started breathing heavily again. But then he stopped and started laughing. Mario and Luigi were both confused as the super Koopa's laughing just kept getting louder.

"Hahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You truly are impresssssive, Mario." Basilisx told him. "You never ssssstop giving me new reasssssonsssss to hate you! I would've kept my word. I would've ssssspared your brother'sssss worthlesssss little life, if you have jussssst ssssstand down and excccccepted your fate! But now, you and your brother will both perish at my bladesssss!"

As soon as he was done talking, Mario and Luigi sprung into action. They leapt at Basilisx ready to attack, Mario with his claws, Luigi with his hammer. But Basilisx just stuck his claws back into the ground and released another shock wave, sending them flying back.

Luigi crashed into a crate, disabling his Tanuki suit. Basilisx noticed this and walked towards him. As he walked, he made very clear the danger Luigi was in, while Luigi was too gripped with fear to stand up.

"It would appear that that idiotic cossssstume of yoursssss isssss gone, and your now defenssssselesssss against my petrifying gazzzzze. I won't wassssste time dealing with both of you when I could jussssst turn you into ssssstone and grind you to dussssst after your brother diesssss!"

Basilisx stopped right in front of Luigi and stared down at him.

"Farewell, Luigi."

Basilisx' eyes started to turn blue, but right before Luigi was turned to stone, a hammer came out from his left and smacked Basilisx in the side of the head. Basilisx shook his head and noticed that Luigi had disappeared while he was in a daze.

Basilisx growled as he searched for him and his brother. But as he looked, he heard noises behind him, as if someone was running back and forth. He followed these noises and checked behind the crates they came from, but he couldn't find the source. Then, while he was searching, he heard someone yelling and turned to see Luigi coming from behind with his hammer. Basilisx blocked each attack Luigi made with his hammer, not noticing Mario sneaking up behind him.

Mario pulled out his claws and struck them right through Basilisx back. At least, he tried to do that. Against the Super Koopa's shell, Mario's claws shattered to pieces. Mario looked down in horror that his main form of offense was destroyed.

Basilisx had stopped blocking Luigi's strikes and held his hammer back with his bare hands. He turned to look at Mario with an annoyed expression.

"Now that," Basilisx said, "wasssss pathetic."

He threw Luigi into Mario, his hammer hitting his brother hard enough to remove the Cat Suit. They both looked up at a furious Basilisx.

"Did you really think that would work? Did you believe that my shell wasssss jussssst for show? I have had enough of thisssss nonsssssenssssse! I'll turn you both to ssssstone right now, and have you two ssssspend the ressssstof eternity sssssmashed and put back together over and over again! Any lassssst words?!"

"Yeah, actually." Luigi said with a smirk that he shared with Mario. "While, Mario was keeping you distracted, I snagged a bob-omb and put it under you."

Basilisx raised an eyebrow and looked at his feet. There was a bob-omb here who had just woken up and made his little bob-omb noise (I have no idea what you'd call that, sorry).

"Bye-bye" Mario said waving at his foe.

The bob-omb exploded, sending Basilisx high into the air. Mario and Luigi jumped after him. They appeared at his side and took turns punching and kicking Basilisx, knocking him towards each other like a volleyball and finishing him off with a dual spin attack followed by an uppercut that sent him crashing into the ceiling. Basilisx fell off and crashed into the floor with enough impact to leave a crater.

Mario and Luigi took battle positions as Basilisx slowly got up. But after taking his first step, the Super-Koopa just didn't have the energy anymore. His eyes rolled into his head and he passed out face-down on the floor.

Sonic and Yoshi's stone shells shattered and the two kneeled down as they tried to catch their breath.

"We're free! Yay!" Yoshi panted.

"About time, too. I'm gonna be stiff for weeks!" Sonic panted. He looked up to the Mario Bros. "They don't call you guys the Heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom for nothing. You guys are awesome!"

"Heck yeah, they're awesome!" Yoshi agreed.

Mario gave a thumbs-up while Luigi puffed out his chest.

* * *

One person however, didn't agree with Sonic's assessment.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

I don't think I need to tell you who.

"USELESS! THAT IDIOT SHOULD'VE STOPPED WASTING TIME AND KILLED MARIO AS SOON AS HE SAW HIM!"

"That's what you get, Bowser!" Peach said. "Absolutely none of your forces could beat Mario before and they're not going to beat him now! So just save yourself a lot of pain and let me go already!"

Bowser looked at her with a smug expression. "Now, my dear princess, let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. You may be right that nothing can defeat Mario. Which is why I got a Mario of my own!"

"Huh?" Peach said, totally confused." What are you talking about?"

Bowser didn't answer her. Instead, he pushed a button on his chair that caused a small screen to descend from the ceiling and reveal Bowser Jr's face.

"What's up Dad?"

"Jr, I need you to gather everyone and head to the armory right away. We can't let Mario and his friends get any closer to my throne room, got it?"

"Got it! You heard him everybody! Move your butts to the armory on the double!"

The screen turned off and returned to where it came from, while Bowser looked back at the main screen in front of him.

"Alright, Mario. You may have beaten my toughest soldier, but I promise you, you ain't seen nothing yet! Mwahahahahahahaha!


	23. The Two-Shell Treaty-Part 3

Our four heroes were celebrating their victory when they heard a voice coming from the room behind them.

"Excusitize me, Masters. But is the area secure now?"

The four of them looked back and saw Stuffwell peeking out behind the door, looking around for any enemies that are still awake.

"Oh," Sonic said, "hey there Stuffwell. You can come in now, we've taken care of everyone in here!"

"Oh, good jobs Masters!" Stuffwell entered the armory and ran up to the others. "And might I say Master Sonic, you've seemed to have changed quite a bit while you were in here." He was, of course, referring to Sonic's Fire Sonic form.

"Well, it's kind of a long story."

"Well, In that case, I'm afraid I shall have to hear it another time. We still need to proceed through the airship and rescue Princess Peach."

"Peach!" Mario exclaimed. "I was so focused on the fight I nearly forgot about her! We need to hurry and find her now!"

"But where would we even start?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah," Yoshi said. "This ship is humongous. It could take forever to find her."

"Not to worry, Masters," Stuffwell assured. "While you were clearing this room of foes, I was accessing the ship's systems and had managed to compile a map of its interior."

Stuffwell opened up and a tiny satellite dish popped out and displayed a hologram of the Omega Doomship, only it showed the ships' outline as well as several rooms inside the ship of varying sizes. The tower located near the back of the ship had a blinking red dot at the top.

"According to the ship's computer, this room here serves as Bowser's Throne Room. And given Bowser's history, I theorize that as to be the most likely place where Princess Peach is being held hostage."

"Nice one, little dude!" Sonic congratulated. "Looks like the elevator going up that tower is right this way. Let's get going!"

"You're not going anywhere!"

Our group was confused as to who said that. But they were even more confused by the missile that exploded near them, knocking them back and disabling Sonic's fire powers. Our heroes tried to look through the smoke and could barely make out some faint outlines. Voices started to come from the other side of the smoke.

"You can't leave! We haven't played yet!"

"And when we play, we play hard!"

"You're gonna pay for constantly messing up Daddy!"

"Along with messing up our ships, our toys, and our hair!"

"HAHAHA! LOOK! THEY GOT A NEW FRIEND!"

"I say, you're right! How about we introduce ourselves then, dear siblings?"

"Yo, Kammy! Kamek! Clear the air so we can get a good look at 'em!"

A strong gust of wind came and blew the smoke in the direction of our heroes. They braced themselves, aside from Stuffwell who got blown across the room and looked at ten Koopas, two of them flying on brooms and the rest of them were riding on what appeared to be oversized tea cups with smiling clown faces on them. The one in the middle, piloted by what looks like a mini-Bowser wearing a bib, was slightly more detailed. Its pilot appeared to be the leader of this motley crew of Koopas.

"All right guys!" The leader said. "Let's show them who they're messing with! We're the royal offspring of the Great King Bowser himself!"

"Lemmy!"

"Morton!"

"Wendy!"

"Larry!"

"IGGY!"

"Ludwig!"

"Roy!"

"And I'm Bowser Jr! And together, we're the unstoppable super mean super team known as..."

"THE KOOPALINGS!" They all said together.

"Oh, and Kammy and Kamek are here too or whatever." Wendy said.

"Hello there, deary." Kammy said. "Kamek, straighten up! How many times have I told you not to slouch!"

"Mother..." Kamek replied in embarrassment.

"So I take it you've fought these guys before?" Sonic asked.

"Mm-hmm." Mario answered.

"And we're gonna have to defeat all of them before we can save Peach, aren't we?"

"Yep." Luigi said.

Sonic sighed. "It's never easy, is it? But that's fine with me. After being stuck in stone, I could use some exercise. So bring it on! If Mario beat you all before, he can definitely do it again! Especially with all of us helping him!"

All of the Koopalings laughed.

"Well aren't you confident," Bowser Jr said. "But that's just because you haven't seen our secret weapon yet!"

"Secret weapon?" Mario asked.

"Daddy knew you'd try to invade the ship." Wendy said.

"So he got his new henchman to build him something that could crush you once and for all!" Morton continued.

"And let me tell you, this new toy is bigger and badder than anything you've ever seen before!" Lemmy boasted.

"Say hello to the instrument of your demise!" Ludwig finished.

Bowser Jr pushed a button on his car and the heroes got in their battle positions and waited for this secret weapon to show up.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

"Um," Yoshi said, "is this new secret weapon invisible or something?"

Bowser Jr, just as confused as Yoshi, repeatedly pressed the button assigned to summon their secret weapon. But no matter how many times he pressed it, it didn't show up.

"Quit pressing the wrong button!" Morton said.

"I'm not pressing the wrong button, you idiot!

"Are you sure?" Larry asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. Baldy McNosehair himself told me to press _this_ button in order to summon the robot!"

Hearing that name filled Sonic with a sense of unease.

"Wait. What did you say?"

* * *

Watching the whole thing in his throne room, Bowser was growing just as agitated as his son.

"RAAAAAGGGHHH! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!? WHY WON'T THAT STUPID ROBOT SHOW UP!?"

He pressed a button and another screen descended from the ceiling in front of him. It was supposed to connect to his new henchman but all it showed was static. Bowser, ignoring this, tried yelling at the screen anyway.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA!? WHY ISN'T YOUR SUPER WEAPON WORKING, YOU IMBECILE!"

No reply. Just static.

"HEY, PICK UP ALREADY! YOUR KING IS TALKING TO YOU!"

Still nothing.

"GRRRRRRR!" He pointed to Peach. "You there! You just stay right where you are. I'm going to give my new #2 a little chat."

Bowser got up and headed for the elevator before Peach could say anything. After he left, Peach let out a sigh of relief. She felt bad for Bowser's new minion but she was certainly happy not to be in the same room as him for the time being. She looked up to the screen at her hero.

"Oh, Mario," Peach said. "I hope you'll be safe. Whatever Bowser's weapon is, I pray you'll never see it. Huh?"

Something caught Peach's eye. Or rather, the lack of something. In the background, there was a crater where a certain Super-Koopa was lying. But now, that Koopa was nowhere to be seen.

Basilisx had disappeared.

* * *

The Super Koopa opens his eyes and finds himself floating in a glass tank, suspended by a strange green liquid with a breathing apparatus strapped to his face and wearing a helmet with wires sticking out of the back of his head that reached the top of the tank.

Basilisx looked through the tank and saw that he was inside a laboratory of some kind. He couldn't see very well because most of the room was cast in darkness. Not familiar with his surroundings, Basilisx extended his claws and tried to cut himself to freedom. The glass didn't show any sign of wear, but Basilisx persisted, repeatedly striking at the glass until it'd give way.

Then, a voice told him to stop, echoing off the walls of the lab.

"I would quit now if I were you. You'll find that glass is completely unbreakable. All tour going to accomplish is chipping your own claws."

Basilisx searched the room again, but couldn't see anybody.

"Where are you?" Basilisx demanded. "Show yourssssself!"

"Gladly."

The figure stepped out of the shadows and revealed to be Bowser's new mysterious ally.

"You? Why did you bring me here? How did I even get here?"

"Patience, my little experiment. All your questions will be answered. First of all, you can thank this one" he pointed to Metal Mario who stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself, "for retrieving you after your less than stellar performance against the Mario Brothers."

Basilisx growled at this. "I would've killed them both! If they hadn't sssssnuck that Bob-omb under me!"

"Wrong."

"What?"

"You would've killed Mario if his brother hadn't stop you. You're a _very_ skilled warrior. No doubt about that. You've met my expectations perfectly. But in the end, there was only one of you. And Mario and Luigi together simply overwhelmed you."

"What are you getting at?" Basilisx said angrily.

"I've already told you," Metal Mario handed a remote to his creator. "There _was_ only one of you." He pressed a button and all the lights came on. And as the room filled with light, Basilisx eyes opened in shock as he found many more containers inside the lab.

Each containing an exact duplicate of him floating inside.

"Not anymore."


	24. The Two-Shell Treaty-Part 4

"What-what isssss the meaning of thisssss?!" Basilisx stood, or rather floated, in shock as he saw the dozens of glass tubes and saw the Basilisx copy they each held within. "How can there be ssssso many Sssssuper-Koopasssss here? I wasssss sssssupposssssed to be the only one!"

"It's rather simple really," his captor explained.

* * *

As I was building Mecha Mario, I thought to myself, "why build just one ultimate weapon when I can create two?"

And that's where you come in.

I convinced Bowser that I could create the most powerful soldier his kingdom had ever seen! So he grabbed you and brought you to me so that I could start working on a one-koopa army that could not only equal Mario, but surpass him. What he didn't realize was that I was working on an army of my own! So after you were created, I built a device that could mass produce robotic duplicates of you while no one was looking.

I was watching your battle with Mario and I couldn't be prouder! Even though you lost, it took two of this world's greatest heroes using everything they had to do it! That's when I knew my project was a success! So while you were unconscious, I had Mecha Mario bring you here without anyone realizing. Once that was done, all I had to do was strap you into this canister.

You've probably already noticed the helmet you are currently wearing. That helmet, as we are speaking, is copying your combat abilities and downloading them into my android army. Before, the plan was just to have Mecha Mario turn that bumbling excuse for a king into turtle soup. But the apparent survival of that meddlesome hedgehog complicates things. So instead, I'll save Mecha Mario for him and just have my new army show Bowser who truly deserves to rule!

* * *

"You wretched traitor!" Basilisx yelled.

"Now now. Don't say that. A traitor would have to have been loyal at some point. I was going to get rid of that idiot since day one."

"Your plan issss asssss doomed asssss you are. Onccccce I get out of thisssss, you will sssssuffer for your insssssolenccccce!" Basilisx was so angry, he almost forgot the question he had while Eggman was telling his story. "And what do you mean King Bowssssser dragged me? I volunteered for the procccccesssss ssssso that I could destroy Mario and get revenge for the death of my bessssst friend!"

"Ah yes! Your friend. That's right. Please, if you don't mind, could you tell me who that was and how he died again?"

"Why do you asssssk?" Basilisx asked, suspicious of the Doctor's intent.

"Just a simple question. I enjoy learning all the minor details."

"Fine. If you mussssst know he was Koopa #3 of Room 2 on Dinosssssaur Island. Mario crushed hisssss shell and kicked him into the lava pitsssss."

"Is that really how it happened?"

"Yesssss. I jussssst told you how is happened! Why are you ssssson insssssissssstent on asssssking me thessssse inane questionsssss?"

"Well, it's just that I've been looking over certain parts of this world, including Dinosaur Island." The doctor pressed another button on his remote and a holographic map of Dinosaur Island appeared. "As you can see, there's no lava anywhere. So how could Mario have kicked him into the lava if there weren't any for miles?"

Basilisx eyes were wide in confusion and shock. "Thi-Thisssss isssss a trick! It hasssss to be! Mario kicked my bessssst friend into the lava! I know he did!"

"You certainly seem confident in that, aren't you? Which brings me to question #2, who was your best friend?"

"Are you sssssenile already? I told you he wasssss Koopa #3 of Doo-"

"Uh-uh. That's not what I meant. What was his name?"

"Hisssss name?"

"Surely his parents didn't give him the name Koopa #3 after he was born. And if you were so close to him, surely you of all people would know. So tell me, what was his name?"

Basilisx searched through his memory to come up with an answer. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing came to mind. For the first time, Basilisx voice carried a tone of panic.

"I don't know! I DON'T KNOW! WHY CAN'T I TELL YOU HISSSSS NAME! WHY DON'T I KNOW!?"

"Simple really. He was never your friend to begin with."

"Like I said before, Bowser dragged you here as part of the experiment. You never volunteered for anything, in fact, I remember you crying and begging me to let you go during the process. Quite pathetically, I might add."

"That can't be true. If it isssss, then why can't I remember that? Why did I think I had a bessssst friend who wasssss killed by Mario?"

"Well, it wasn't enough to just turn you into what you are now. You needed a reason to utilize your full potential. You needed a reason to hate Mario. Sure, all Koopas hate Mario, but that's mostly due to word of mouth. No, for you, it had to be personal. People always fight at their best when it's personal. So I removed your memories and gave your artificial ones so that you would hate Mario enough to fight him with all you had. Though I admit, the inconsistency between your memories and the real world was a mistake on my part."

Basilisx found it difficult to breathe and it wasn't because of his breathing apparatus. All of this was too much for his mind to handle all at once. After taking a few seconds to process, Basilisx asked one final question.

"If all of thisssss isssss true, if my memoriesssss are truly a lie. Then who am I really? Who wasssss I before I became...thisssss?"

A sadistic grinned spread across the doctor's face. And he uttered the three worst words Basilisx could've heard at that moment.

"I don't know."

That simple sentence utterly devastated him. Basilisx hung his head and clenched his fists.

"And I don't care," the doctor continued. "And if you ask Bowser, he'll tell you the same thing. My one regret though is that thanks to the limited resources that buffoon was able to provide me, I was unable to replicate your petrification abilities. Such an amazing power, capable of turning any living matter into solid stone. It truly was quite the happy accident, much better than that stupid lisp of yours. It even gave me the idea to name you Basilisx! It's funny how things in life just tend to work out for you, isn't it?"

The doctor's monologue was interrupted by the sound of laughter. He turned around and saw Basilisx, with his head still down, laughing madly.

"You're right, Doctor. People truly do give it their all when it'sssss persssssonal. And now, thanksssss to you, I have sssssomeone I hate more than that plumber!" Basilisx lifted his head and his eyes were glowing ice-cold blue.

"DIE!"

* * *

"Eh?" Bowser Jr said. "What's it matter to you?"

"That name. Believe it or not, you aren't the first person to use it. Back in my world, we'd make fun of my arch-enemy by calling him I need to know more about this new henchmen of your Dad's. Where did he come from? What's his name? How did he started working for Bowser?"

"Sonic, are you alright?" Mario asked.

Sonic didn't seem to hear him. "You have to tell me who it is! Because if it's who I think it is, this world has way more to worry about than I thought!"

"Eh, we don't got to tell you nothin'!" Roy said.

"And the only thing this world has to worry about, is us!" Morton added.

"So then why should we impart valuable knowledge to our enemies, Mr. Hedgehog?" Ludwig finished.

"You'll tell me if you don't want a hypersonic beatdown! So I'll ask one last time, who is he?!"

"OOOOHHH!" Iggy said. "HE'S MAAAAAD! THAT REMINDS ME, WE ALREADY HAVE A SUPER WEAPON OF OUR OWN!"

"How did that remind you of that?" Larry asked.

"What are you talking about, you lunatic?" Wendy asked.

"EHEHE EHAHAHAHA! I MADE SOME UPGRADES TO OUR KOOPA CLOWN CARS AND NOW WE CAN SHOW THESE GUYS A REALLY BAD TIME!"

"You've played with our clown cars without asking us? That's not nice!" Lemmy said.

"Did you even bother to test this new feature, you giggling harlequin?" Ludwig added.

"NOPE! BUT TRUST ME, WHEN YOU HEAR IT, YOU'RE GONNA LOVE IT! EVERYONE GET CLOSER, EVEN YOU FLYING GUYS UP THERE!"

All Koopas present huddled together. As Iggy managed to keep the volume of his psychotic ramblings low, everyone in the huddle started smiling and nodding their heads.

"Not bad, Iggy!" Bowser Jr complimented. "Let's do it! Right now!"

"But if this blows up on us," Morton told Iggy, "I'm kicking your butt to next week!"

"All right Mario," Bowser Jr shouted, "we couldn't get that scientist's robot to get rid of you, but we got something way better!"

"EVERYONE! LOOK UNDER YOUR SEATS AND YOU'LL FIND A KEY THERE!"

The Koopalings followed Iggy's instructions and pulled out a shiny key with different colors for each sibling.

"NOW STICK IT INTO THE IGNITION OF YOUR CLOWN CAR!"

The Koopalings took their keys out of the ignition, turning their cars off, then they stuck the new keys in and turned them. Their cars began to transform; glass popped out of the lids and fully enclosed each Koopaling into their car, the eyes turned red and their mouths changed into open mouth grins full of razor-sharp teeth.

The Clown Cars took off into the air and began to form around each other. Long metal limbs popped out of each of them and linked them together. First, Lemmy and Morton's cars had two large green Shoes with spikes at the bottom popping out from under them. Then, they respectively connected to Wendy and Roy's cars above them.

"Form feet and legs!"

Next, Wendy and Roy's cars linked up to Ludwig in between and right above both of them followed by Ludwig connecting to two more cars above him, Larry at his right and Iggy at his left. Larry and Iggy's cars then had two long mechanical arms out from their mouths, each arm having a boxing glove as large as the car they came out of.

"Form arms and body!"

Finally, Bowser Jr appeared above all of them and connected his car with Luwig's right below him.

"And I'll form the head!

"Mario, you might've beaten us all before, but now you don't stand a chance against our unstoppable KOOPA CLOWN CRUSHER!"

The Koopalings have turned their cars into a giant robot. The three natives of this world were at a loss for words. Sonic, not so much.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Hey, what's so funny!?" Roy asked.

"Look kids, I've fought _alot_ of robots. So believe me when I tell you that that is the stupidest looking one I've seen yet!" Sonic wiped a tear from his eye and regained his composure. "So how about you give up now and I won't smash that thing into too many pieces?"

"Hehehehe!" Lemmy giggled. "Our new toy's not done yet."

"Huh?" Sonic said.

"That's right," Larry added. "We just need one more thing for our Crusher to be finished."

"Kamek! Kammy! Do it now!" Bowser Jr ordered.

The two Magikoopas held their wands up high.

"Parappa the Rapper!"

"Banjo-Kazooie!"

A Metal Mushroom and a Fire Flower both popped out in front of their wands and fell down into the open boxing gloves of the Koopa Clown Crusher. The gloves close around them and brilliant white light pours out of the gloves and envelops the room. The heroes and the Magikoopas have no choice but to cover their eyes as the power-ups worked their magic. When the light dimmed and everyone's eyes adjusted, their jaws dropped as the Koopaling's robot turned into a gun metal grey abomination with burning fists. The Koopalings laugh triumphantly as they march towards our heroes.

"I probably shouldn't have said anything, huh?" Sonic asked.

"Ya think!?" Said Yoshi.

* * *

Back on the island, Shadow was still dealing with robot troubles of his own. His battle with Mecha Sonic had turned this once idyllic beach into a war zone. The sand was painted with large craters and scorch marks, turning it into a nearly even mixture of black and white. Large boulders were reduced to mere rubble, trees were ripped and peppered the landscape, and the silence was cut by the shrill cries of panicking animals who could sense the impact of the battle miles away from it.

Shadow stood up glaring at Mecha Sonic. He was breathing heavily and covered in bruises. Mecha Sonic on the other hand hardly looked worse for wear.

"What's wrong, Shadow?" Mecha Sonic asked coldly. "Is the so-called 'Ultimate Life Form' unable to keep up?"

Shadow growled at his enemy but otherwise did nothing.

"Not surprising. You couldn't even defeat me with the help of your pathetic little friends. Which reminds me, how about you tell me where they are and I promise to make your death painless."

"I'd rather die!" Shadow declared.

"Is that so? Well then, it looks like we're right on schedule.

Mecha Sonic transformed his arm into a gun and fired. Shadow barely had enough energy to dodge his bullets.

No, they weren't bullets.

It wasn't a standard gun.

It was a type of automatic rifle that, instead of firing bullets, fired balls of charged plasma energy that expanded exponentially on contact and fired 500 rounds per minute. As Shadow dodged and leapt over the explosions, he suddenly remembered where it came from.

"That gun..."

Mecha Sonic had stopped firing to show off his weapon.

"Hmm? Do you like it? A gift from your girlfriend back at GUN Fortress. It's not bad, but it pales in comparison to what the other one gave me. What were their names again? They were both so worthless I couldn't bother to remember them. Then again, I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. Because soon, there won't be anyone left to remember them. Just like there won't be anyone left to remember you, Sonic, or anyone else."

Shadow clenched his fists and grinded his teeth. He didn't make any sudden movements. Instead, he placed his hand over one of the rings on his wrist and slowly began to slide it off...

* * *

 _The secret armory of the GUN Fortress was nearly decimated. Guns were riddled with bullet holes, armored vehicles torn to scraps, fires scattered throughout the room, and Team Dark on its last legs._

 _E-123 Omega was on its back, Mecha Sonic staring down at him. Rouge and Shadow were on the floor, Rouge's weapon absorbed into Mecha Sonic near the beginning of the fight. Mecha Sonic made good use of it wrecking the arsenal._

 _Shadow however still had his taser. He strained to lift the barrel and pointed right at the temple of the psychotic metal menace. Shadow pulled the trigger and a bullet sized electrode burst out of the nozzle with the speed of an actual bullet. But ultimately, it's speed didn't matter._

 _In the one microsecond it would've taken to struck Mecha Sonic, the robot grabbed the wire the electrode was connected to and stopped it dead in its tracks before it hit him. The taser soon crumbled into dust, starting with the electrode in Mecha Sonic's grip as he absorbed it into his systems._

 _Shadow looked down at what used to be his weapon before being sucker punched by an extending hand on a cable. The hand grabbed Shadow and pushed him up against the wall, where it hit him with over one billion volts of electricity._

 _"Shadow!" Rouge cried over Shadow's screams.  
_

 _Shadow survived, but just barely. As he slumped to the floor, he strained to look up at the metal monster towering over his friend. Omega saw what Mecha Sonic did to Shadow and let loose with a hail of bullets from his wrist cannons. Mecha Sonic didn't even seem to notice them as he grabbed Omega's chassis and lifted him up so they were staring eye to eye._

 _"You seem familiar." Mecha Sonic said while still being shot at. "Tell me, who are you?"_

 _Omega had stopped firing and answered his question._

 _"I am Omega, the_ _ultimate E-series robot! I am the greatest of all of Eggman's creations and I will prove that today by destroying you!"_

 _Omega switched out his wrist cannons for missile launchers and fired them point blank at Mecha Sonic's face. The explosion rocked the entire room, and it was impossible to see either of them through the smoke._

 _"Omega!" Rouge shouted._

 _Shadow looked up at concern. He had no way to know if his friend's plan had worked. Or if he survived._

 _Then noises came from the smoke. Mechanical whirring followed by metal landing on metal. Neither Rouge nor Shadow breathed as they waited for whoever was making that sound to appear out of the smoke._

 _Both of them gasped at the sight of their friend, damaged but alive. As he stepped out of the smoke, he put his hands on his hips in a triumphant pose._

 _"Mission accomplished." The robot said proudly._

 _Rouge and Shadow couldn't be happier to hear that. Rouge was so overjoyed she just started laughing. Shadow just hung his head behind him and breathed a sigh of relief. Shadow closed his eyes as the nightmare was finally over._

 _Then the sound of crunching metal and Rouge's screaming snapped him out of it. He looked in front of him to see Omega with a blue fist bursting out of his chest. Omega didn't say anything as the fist began to lift him off the ground and Mecha Sonic stepped out behind him. Omega began to convulse, as Mecha Sonic was absorbing all his weapon systems from the inside out._

 _"Ah, yes. The E-series robots. A useless line that the good doctor completely forgot about."_

 _As the color faded from Omega's eyes, Mecha Sonic pushed his other hand through him and then ripped him in half. He tossed aside the two pieces of Omega like trash._

 _"I have no doubt I will completely forget about you as well."_

 _Mecha Sonic turned to Rouge and Shadow._

 _"Now for you two. I will only say this one more time. Give me the Chaos Emerald!"_

 _Shadow struggled to get up to his feet but he managed to succeed. As he stood, he reached behind him and pulled out the sixth Chaos Emerald._

 _"Shadow! Don't!" Rouge begged._

 _A single bullet barely grazed her ear, but it was enough to keep her quiet._

 _"Well, it would appear that you survival instincts are kicking in. Now bring the Chaos Emerald to me."_

 _Shadow didn't move from his spot. He didn't move at all._

 _"Did I stutter? Bring it to me! NOW!"_

 _Again Shadow didn't bring the Emerald to him. Instead, he reached for his rings, his power limiters, and slowly took them off._

 _After using the Chaos Emerald's power to heal himself, Shadow exploded with red Chaos Energy. Yelling at the top of his lungs as power surged all over his body._

 _"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!..."_

* * *

"... _I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!_

* * *

 **Next will be the final chapter of this episode. I gotta say, it's been really fun deciding what happens next in this story. I'll still try to make it as close AlvinEarthworm's vision as I can, but it feels good to share my story with the world even if it's technically someone else's. See ya soon.**


	25. The Two-Shell Treaty-Part 5

Shadow blasted towards Mecha Sonic faster than the robot could react. He tackled him into the ground and as they slid through the sand, Shadow struck him with a barrage of point-blank Chaos Spears. He hurled him into the sky and Shadow attacked with a series of kicks and punches, hurtling him through the air before repeatedly snapping his fingers and attacking him with Chaos Magic. Shadow then teleported right above the robot.

"Chaos Lance!"

The Chaos Lance threw Mecha Sonic into the ground, where it exploded upon impact. Shadow landed on him and began to pummel him further in. Once they were about ten feet deep, Shadow poured everything he had into this next attack.

"Chaos Blast!"

The explosion created a crater more than 30 feet deep. Mecha Sonic had been all but destroyed. Parts of him were bent in the wrong directions. There were deep dents all over his body. Wires were poking out of him and he twitched as he tried to move. Shadow grabbed the twisted machine and threw him out of the crater and back on to land. Shadow jumped after him and intentionally landed on his arm, severing it from the rest of him.

Shadow glared down. He didn't say anything. He just lifted his hand and charged another Chaos Spear to finish him off. But before he could fire it, his vision started to blur and he could feel his attack weakening.

"No! Not now!" Using all of his power at once was too much for Shadow's stamina. The attack disappeared and Shadow fell on his knees, propping himself up with his arms and trying not to pass out.

Metal Sonic saw this and took the opportunity to gloat.

"Hmhmhm. HAHAHAHA! What sort of Ultimate Life Form can't even handle his own power?!"

Mecha Sonic started to get up. It was a slow and difficult process but he was succeeding. Shadow tried to stop him, to finish him off, but he was too drained. He landed face first as Mecha Sonic stood tall and stared down at him.

"I admit, you almost had me going there. But in the end, you're still just another puny flesh sack. You never stood a chance against me."

Mecha Sonic turned his one arm into a flamethrower and pointed it at Shadow. And as Shadow's consciousness began to fade, the last thing he heard was Mecha Sonic's cold mocking voice before everything went dark.

"Say goodbye, Shadow the Hedgehog."

* * *

Our heroes dodged out of the way of the Koopa Clown Crusher's giant boot and tried everything to bring it down. Luigi and Mario tried hitting its knees with their hammers, Yoshi kept kicking its back and Sonic tried to knock off its head with a Homing Attack. The Koopalings just made their robot shrug and it send them flying back. The robot's pilots laughed as their attacks did absolutely nothing to their machine.

Yoshi landed on his feet and tried to trip the Crusher. He shot out his tongue and wrapped it around its ankles. He then pulled with all his might, bringing its two legs together. Roy and Morton both laughed evilly as they both just lifted their leg, not only getting them out of Yoshi's tongue but also pulling him closer to them. As Yoshi headed in their direction, the machine spun its leg around so that he'd collide with the spiked sole of its boot. Sonic jumped up and grabbed Yoshi just in time.

After putting him back on the ground, Sonic ran for the machine and spun around it in circles creating a tornado. As Sonic ran faster, the machine started to lift up in the air. Larry and Iggy stopped Sonic by shooting fire at the ground under them. The floor became covered in fire and Sonic was forced to run away.

As the Crusher landed, they looked behind them and saw Luigi flying towards them headfirst wearing a Koopatroopa helmet. Luigi's screams were cut short when he collided with Larry's boxing glove instead. Larry tossed him into the air and Iggy punched him back into the direction he came from. Luigi landed right next to Mario, dazed and wounded.

"Hahaha!" The Koopalings laughed in unison.

"Face it Mario! With our new Clown Crusher, we're invincible!" Bowser Jr bragged.

"You might as well just throw in the towel," Wendy said.

"Because otherwise, we're gonna mop the floor with ya!" Roy boasted.

"I love a good gloating as much as the next Koopa, but haven't any of you noticed that MARIO IS MISSING!?" Ludwig exclaimed.

The rest of the Koopalings looked back at the spot Mario was standing at and noticed that Ludwig was right.

"Hey! Where'd he go?" Morton asked.

"You buffoons lost him!" Bowser Jr said.

"Us?" Larry said. "You're supposed to be the head, aren't you? If any one of us should've been watching, it's you!"

Mario poked his head out from behind a large crate. He went back into hiding and breathed a sigh of relief as the Koopalings were to distracted to notice. He turned to his brother, who he'd brought with him. Sonic and Yoshi were also there with them.

"Bro! Are you all right?" Mario whispered, concerned.

"Oooohhh... Maybe throwing each other at it wasn't the best idea." Luigi groaned.

"Anyone got any other ideas?" Sonic asked.

"You wouldn't happen to have another dimension hopping pod we can drop on them, would you?" Yoshi asked Sonic.

"I'm afraid not. What about power-ups? There has to be some left, right?"

"We used them all up against Basilisx." Luigi explained.

"We'll have to find some other way to beat them and fast! Otherwise, our goose is a-cooked!" Mario explained.

"Excuse me, Masters."

Everyone turned around and saw Stuffwell hiding behind another crate next to them.

"But perhaps I may be of some assistance."

"Whatcha ya got, little guy?" Sonic asked.

"They're over here, your Spoiledednesses!"

Everyone looked up and saw Kammy floating right above them. Then the crate our heroes were hiding behind exploded as the Koopalings shot a fireball at them. They were sent hurtling through the air before landing on their feet. Except for Luigi who landed on his face. Mario helped his brother get back on his feet.

"We'll keep those three busy." Mario told him. "You get to Stuffwell and ask him what his plan is."

"I'm on it, bro!" Luigi said.

The three of them went after their foes without a drop of hesitation. Meanwhile, Luigi managed to make it back to Stuffwell without being noticed. He checked to see that everyone was distracted before going back to the little robot.

"Are you okay, Stuffwell?" Luigi asked him.

"I am quite alright. Thank you for your concern, Master Luigi." Stuffwell answered.

The two of them flinched as an explosion rocked the floor they were standing on.

"No problem. So, what do we do?"

"Well, it is my understanding that the reason why the Koopa Clown Crusher is so indestuctivisible is because of the power ups brought upon by Kammy and Kamek. And that the reason they were able to do so was because of their magic wands, correct?"

Luigi nodded.

"The Professor has had the foresight to have installed me with vast knowledge concerning magic spells. If we could get one of those wands, we could give those iniquitous Koopalings a taste of their own medicine. We just need a way to grab them away from those two Magikoopas."

"Got it. And I think I know just how to do it."

Swallowing his fear, Luigi ran straight towards the battlefield. He ducked under stray fireballs from Sonic's fight with Kammy, he barely avoided being squashed by the Koopa Clown Crusher as it was battling Mario and he found a way to hop onto Yoshi while the dinosaur was in the middle of dodging Kamek's lightning.

"Luigi?" Yoshi asked, surprised and panting from avoiding being hit. "What are you-"

Yoshi was cut off after Luigi whispered his plan into his ear. Yoshi looked at him with concern but Luigi just nodded his head, assuring him that he'll be fine. From that, Yoshi tightened his resolve and ran straight towards Kamek, dodging his lightning along the way. Yoshi ran closer. Closer. Closer. Until the two of them were almost right in front of him. Luigi jumped off of Yoshi's back and leapt straight towards the Magikoopa. His battle cry pierced the air and everyone stopped to see him flying straight towards Kamek.

Who disposed of Luigi with a point blank bolt of lightning. Luigi twitched and jerked as he was being electrocuted before falling on the ground face first. The bad guys laughed at Luigi's humiliation. Kamek himself was so busy laughing, that he didn't notice Yoshi's tongue wrap around him until it was too late. Yoshi pulled him off of his broom and spun him around faster and faster before letting go and having Kamek fly straight into a wall.

As Kamek fell back on the floor unconscious, his wand slipped out of his hand. Yoshi pulled it with his tongue and ran towards Luigi to check up on Luigi. He smelt burnt, but he was fine. Yoshi sighed out his relief before having to duck a massive fireball. He turned around and saw that it came from Kammy. She was pointing her wand and a harsh stare at him.

"Let me tell you something you little green puke!" She yelled. "Nobody but the King picks on my boy!"

More fireballs burst from her wand. Yoshi panicked before pulling Luigi into his mouth. He ran for his life, checking behind him just to make sure he wouldn't be blown to bits. Kammy laughed as she tried to kill the poor dinosaur up until Sonic smacked into her with a Spin Dash.

"Sorry," he said unconvincingly. "Normally, I'd feel bad about hitting an old lady trying to protect her kids. But I'm pretty confident you had this coming."

Kamek got up and rubbed his head just in time to his mother crash right into him and back into the wall. Both Magikoopas lay unconscious now.

"Get to safety!" Sonic shouted at them. "I'll give you some cover."

Sonic ran right towards the last two combatants, Mario and the Koopalings. Mario struck with kicks and punches but they didn't even left a dent. In fact, he just ended up hurting himself more often than not. To his credit, the Koopalings were having just as hard a time fighting Mario. They tried to crush him under their boot or set them on fire with their fire powers, but Mario just dodged and ducked all of their attacks.

Either way, neither of them were making any progress.

"Stay still already!" Lemmy whined.

"You're only making this harder on yourself." Wendy said.

"You can only keep this up so long, but we can go all day!" Roy exclaimed.

Mario knew they were right. Already he was getting tired. But he had to keep going, he had to save Peach.

After delivering a failed one-two kick to Bowser Jr's section, the plumber landed on the ground and was immediately swept up by a blue streak. The streak began to run around the Crusher, trapping it in a tornado.

"Again?" Larry asked. "These guys just never learn!"

"HAHAHAHA! THEY'RE EVEN DUMBER THAN MORTON!" Iggy shouted.

"HEY!" Morton shouted.

"All right boys! And Wendy." Bowser Jr said. "Let's teach them a lesson they won't forget!"

Larry and Iggy raised their arms into the air and fire shot forth from it. The two beams coalesced into a large orb of flame that got bigger until it exploded, releasing dozens of tiny fireballs to rain all over the room. The blue streak dashed out of the way and hid, taking Mario with him. As the fire fell from above, it exploded on contact with the ground.

Kammy and Kamek got up again only to be blown up by a stray fireball. After the explosion, they were both covered in soot and fell back on the ground unconscious once more.

Mario and Sonic managed to find the crate where Yoshi, Luigi and Stuffwell were hiding out.

"You alright, Luigi?" Sonic asked.

"Better than alright!" Luigi answered. "We got Kamek's magic wand!"

"Stuffwell said we can use it to stop the Koopalings." Yoshi explained.

"Correct," Stuffwell said. "And I believe I have just the plan to do it!"

* * *

"Finally!" Bowser exclaimed. "This elevator is WAY too slow! I guess that'll teach me the next time I decide whether or not we should have a food court."

Bowser stepped out of the elevator and into a large room at the bottom of the ship. This was where the power source for the Doom Cannon was stored, as well as some crates of various sizes. High above it, where Bowser got off, was a single long catwalk, connecting the elevator the Doctor's secret lab at the other side of the room.

"For now, its time to give that knucklehead of a scientist a piece of my mind! Huh?"

As Bowser walked closer to the lab, he noticed a strange figure with its head down standing right in front of the door.

"Basilisx?" Bowser exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Basilisx didn't answer.

"Well, if you can stand then you can fight! Now get back up there and finish Mario! And this time, don't screw up! Or your new position will be Chain Chomp Chow!"

Basilisx still didn't move.

"Hey! Are you listening!?"

This time, Basilisx extended his claws. And rushed towards Bowser. Bowser was so shocked he barely had time to defend himself before Basilisx claws cut him. Claw marks streaked his arms; not too deep, but enough to draw blood. Basilisx clawed at him again, but Bowser was ready this time. He stepped back away from Basilisx' strikes and when he lunged for him, Bowser jumped up and landed right behind him.

Bowser grabbed Basilisx by his arms and stretched them out. Then he leapt high in the sky, still holding on to the traitorous Super Koopa, and belly flopped back onto the catwalk with him underneath. Bowser panted and no longer felt Basilisx trying to squirm free.

"Let that be a reminder." Bowser said. "This is what happens to anyone who tries to betray me."

Bowser got up and looked down at his defeated ex-general.

"Huh?"

Basilisx was crushed into pieces. Wires and robot parts were scattered around him. And Some of his skin and armor were removed to reveal that the Super Koopa was actually a machine.

Then he heard clanging sounds behind him. He turned around and saw a bunch of Basilisx' staring right at him. He heard more clanging behind him and turned around to see even more. And as he took in the room, he saw dozens of clones, glaring at him all over the room. Some were standing on the power cell, some were hanging on the wall with their claws, all of them looked ready to kill

"What the heck is going on here?!" He shouted.

"It's my fault really."

Bowser looked up one last time to see his chief scientist piloting some kind of hovercraft.

"I'm afraid one can't mass produce an army without cutting costs here and there. So I'm afraid these Basi-droids are less durable than the original. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the _very_ limited resources you've provided me meant I had to take some shortcuts."

"You?! What do you think you're doing?! In case you forgotten, you belong to me!"

"Yes, yes, the Two-Shell Treaty. You provide me a lab as well as promote me to second-in-command so long as I always recognize you as my superior."

"Exactly! And this little coup attempt just revoked our deal!"

"Does it? No one else is here but as. And as far as anyone would be able to tell,m Basilisx betrayed you and cut you into tiny little chunks before running away from the Kingdom. And besides, it's not like I'm really breaking it. Your still the King and I still recognize that. But it won't be for long."

"Heh heh heh. For a smart guy, you're pretty dumb you know that? Thinking you can take me down, with a bunch of cheap knock-offs!?"

Bowser crawled into his shell and blitzed through dozens of Basi-droids before jumping up to meet the scientist face-to-face. Bowser swung down his claws, ready to smash the traitor's head in.

"Should've come up with a better plan, egghead!"

The scientist reached a hand up and grabbed Bowser's claws. Bowser's hung in the air in shock as his former chief scientist, stopped his attack with hardly any effort.

"My name is Dr. Eggman!" Eggman tossed Bowser back on to the platform as if he weighed nothing. "And I always have a master plan!"

* * *

"Where are you already!" Bowser Jr shouted.

"Yeah! This game doesn't end until someone loses!" Iggy said.

"And believe you me, it ain't gonna be us!" Roy finished.

The Koopalings' rampage was put to a halt when they saw Sonic standing right in front of them.

"Hey there!" He said with confidence.

"Hi!" Lemmy shouted.

"Shut up, Lemmy!" Wendy said. "Well, look who decided to quit wasting time."

"Are you finally ready to kneel before us and beg for mercy?" Ludwig asked.

"Spoilers! You're not gonna get it!" Morton said.

"Nah," Sonic answered. "I'm just checking to see if he can keep up."

"What are you talking about?" Larry asked.

As soon as he did, a red blur appeared and took Sonic away.

All of them uttered in confusion before the red blur came back and appeared and blocked Bowser Jr's field of vision.

"Woah!"

Then a blue blur came by and shocked Morton.

"What the-?"

These blurs rushed and ran around them until finally they started running up the Koopa Clown Crusher, going up its legs and stopping right on top of its boxing glove fists. On the right fist, the blue blur was revealed to be Sonic. But on the left fist, the red blur stopped and it turned out to be a red Yoshi. Not a normal red Yoshi, but the Yoshi we knew and loved empowered by a Dash Pepper created using the "Spyro" spell, giving him incredible speed.

"Not bad." Sonic complimented. "And I have to say, red's a good look for you."

"Thanks!" Yoshi said. "Though it's kinda hard to stop when you're going this fast."

"Don't worry, it just takes practice."

Iggy and Larry had enough of being ignored so they tried to crush them. Sonic and Yoshi just dashed out of the way and went back to running around them. They were both too fast for the Crusher to keep up. They avoided every attempt to stomp them or burn them.

"Grrr!" Bowser Jr growled. "Stand still!"

The others were still in hiding, watching the fight.

"It worked perfectly!" Mario said. "It's been years since I've seen Yoshi run that fast!"

"Yes, but I am certain it drained a fair bit of the wand's magic to do so," Stuffwell explained. "Remember, the more powerful the spell, the more magic is required to use it. And once the wand runs out of magic, we'll be unable to cast spells until it recharges."

"We remember Stuffwell," Luigi said while rolling his eyes. "You don't need to tell us every little detail all over again. Now let's keep using it while we can." Luigi grabbed the wand then drew a blank on what to do with it. "Um, what's step two again?"

"Step two will be to use the wand to create a Volt Moushroom by casting the "Raiden" spell. Then Master Luigi will use it to paralyze the Koopa Clown Crusher!"

"Got it! Raiden." Luigi held the wand up high and a black mushroom with lightning bolts on its head appeared. Luigi absorbed it and static electricity started surging around his body.

"How do you feel?" Mario asked him.

"I'm A-OK!" Luigi said with a thumbs-up.

"Master Mario, you remember your oart of the plan, correct?" Stuffwell asked.

"Mm-hmm!" Mario nodded.

"Excellent! Then let us proceed post haste! Master Luigi, if you don't mind."

"Not at all" Luigi said. He handed the wand to Mario and jumped on top of the crate. He watched the Koopalings as they still tried to destroy Sonic and Yoshi.

"Quit moving!" Roy shouted.

"This isn't fun anymore!" Lemmy said.

"Is anyone else getting motion sick?" Larry asked.

"Yoohoo!"

The Koopalings turned around and saw Luigi. He blew a raspberry at them and then laughed and pointed at their failure. The Koopalings growled in frustration and threw a fireball at him. Luigi panicked and lifted his hands to shield himself only for lightning to shoot out of them, through the fireball, destroying it in the process, and hitting the Crusher dead on.

The Koopalings jerked erratically inside their cars as the Crusher stopped dead in its tracks, paralyzed.

Luigi opened his eyes and saw that it worked.

"Ha ha!" He cheered. "I'm doing it! I'm really doing it! Mario, you're up bro!"

Mario nodded his head and raced towards the Koopa Clown Crusher, wand in hand.

As he got close, he jumped high above their heads and lifted the wand straight into the air.

"Crash Bandicoot!" Right after Mario said this, a Mega Mushroom appeared. It was about twice Mario's height and when he absorbed it, Mario grew up to about fifty feet. He repositioned himself to belly flop the Koopa Clown Crusher.

"Uh-oh," the Koopalings said. Mario landed right on top of them. When he got up he looked down to see the Koopa Clown Crusher crushed flat and more importantly, no longer powered-up.

Mario shrunk down back to his original size and everybody raced towards him.

"We did it!" Yoshi cheered!

"Stuffwell did it," Mario said. "If it wasn't for his plan, we never would've beat it."

"True dat! Way to go Stuffwell!" Sonic said.

"Awww. It was nothing, Masters. But I'm afraid we'll have to exchangifize pleasantries later. Right now, we have a princess to save. BACK TO ADVE- AAHH!"

Stuffwell was interrupted by the ground suddenly shaking. Everyone looked up to see the Koopa Clown Crusher getting back on its feet. Every single one of its pilots stared angrily at our heroes.

"This is the last time you make a fool out of us Mario!" Ludwig shouted. He pushed a button in his car and its mouth opened up to reveal a large cannon. The cannon began charging up with deadly purple energy.

"DIE!" All the Koopalings shouted. Right before the cannon ran out of power and the insides of their cars started flashing red.

"What the?" Wendy exclaimed. "What's going on here?"

"Iggy!" Bowser Jr said. "What did you do to our cars?"

"WHAT?!" Iggy shouted. "I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T TEST THIS THING YET!"

"IGGGGGYYYYYYYYY!" Everyone shouted as the Koopa Clown Crusher exploded and sent them flying through the air.

Kammy and Kamek got up just as soon as the explosion happened.

"Oh, my head." Kammy moaned. "Now what is that horrible racket?"

Both of them looked up to see the Koopalings heading right towards them.

"Not again..." Kamek bemoaned before all eight of Bowser's children landed right on top of them, knocking them all out.

Our heroes just stared as everyone moaned in a giant pile of Koopas.

"Yes, er, quite right," Stuffwell said. "Now then, where was I? Ah, yes. BACK TO ADVENTURE!"

Everyone ran for the exit and straight towards the elevator, leaving all the Koopas behind to lick their wounds.

* * *

"Yeesh, can this thing go any slower?" Sonic complained.

The five of them have made it to the elevator and were on their way to Bowser's throne room. Unfortunately, the ride up happened to be more tedious than they would've liked. Mario kept pressing the button to the top floor, hoping it would go faster.

"Come one, come on! Peach is waiting for us!"

"Master Mario, forgive my impertinence, but I must insist that you calm down," Stuffwell stated. "I must admit, I'm quite grateful that we have a moment to simply catch our breath."

"Yeah," Luigi said. "I can't even count the number of times our goose was almost cooked just getting here!"

"But we made it through, because we're the best team ever!" Yoshi exclaimed.

"Yeah, maybe," Sonic said. "But I just feel like we'd be an even better team if we had Shadow with us."

"That jerk? Forget him! He doesn't need us and we don't need him."

"I have to side on Yoshi with this one, Sonic." Luigi said. "Despite what I said earlier, this was probably the best mission we had since you guys arrived. For once, we didn't have to worry about Mecha Sonic."

"That's because we weren't Emerald hunting this time," Sonic explained. "Which means..."

Mario saw where Sonic's train of thought was going and decided to comfort him.

"Easy there, Sonic. There's still another Chaos Emerald out there, right? Maybe Mecha Sonic went after that one and Shadow tracked down the other one."

"Is that better or worse?"

Mario seriously thought about it for a moment. "...I don't know."

Sonic closed his eyes and slumped his head against the cold elevator wall.

"Listen Sonic," Mario continued. "I've seen a lot of things in my life. But your friend, Shadow, is probably the toughest guy I've ever met. If the end of the world couldn't do him in, nothing will. And the same goes for you too."

"Thanks Mario," Sonic said. "I just hope none of us have to find out if we can survive it twice."

"You mean, if _you_ can survive it twice!" Luigi said.

"Luigi!" Mario scolded.

"I'm just saying what we all already know! If Mecha Sonic wins, we die!"

"That won't happen! We just need to-"

"He's right." Sonic said.

"Eh?" Everyone looked at Sonic.

"He's right. Not just Luigi, but Shadow too. He might've been a jerk about it, but someone needed to stay behind to get the Chaos Emeralds before Mecha Sonic did. Mecha Sonic destroyed my world, he killed my friends, and he's caused more death and destruction than Bowser or Eggman ever could! And instead of helping Shadow stop Mecha Sonic from hurting anyone else, I decided to help you guys. No offense."

Everyone assured Sonic that none was taken.

"But no more! As soon as Princess Peach is safe, I'm going right back to finding those Emeralds and stopping Mecha Sonic's rampage once and for all! Everyone who suffered because of him will be avenged! I swear it!"

Sonic felt a gloved hand on his shoulder and turned to see Mario smiling. "And we'll be right behind you!"

He looked behind Mario and saw everyone else with a confident grin on their face, confirming what Mario said. Sonic smiled and fist bumped Mario.

"Thanks guys."

The elevator stopped.

"What now?" Luigi said worried.

"The doors slowly began to slide away from each other.

"I believe this is our stop," Stuffwell said.

"Finally!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Peach! I'm coming!" Mario shouted.

Mario was surprised to hear Peach's next words. "Mario! Watch out!"

Mario stopped in confusion. Which made way for fear as soon as he saw a robot version of himself with a missile launcher pointed straight at them.

Mecha Mario fired and the missile collided right into its target. None of them had enough time to process before the warhead exploded, destroying the elevator.

Peach she screamed in terror at this grisly sight before her.

"MMMMMMAAAAAAARRRRIIIIIOOOOOO!"

* * *

 ** _Oh no! After coming so far, our heroes have been ambushed by Doctor Eggman's latest creation, the ultra-powerful Mecha Mario!_**

 ** _Can anyone save Peach now?_**

 ** _How did Dr. Eggman survive?_**

 ** _And where did he acquire the strength to be able to stand up to Bowser?_**

 _ **And most importantly, can anyone stand in the way of Mecha Sonic and the sixth Chaos Emerald?**_

 _ **All these questions, and more, answered in the next installment of SUPER MARIO BROS. Z!**_

* * *

 **In case anyone hasn't figured it out, all the spells are names of characters that'll never be in Smash Bros.**

 **Writing this has been a serious exercise of my creativity, and I loved doing all of it. I can't wait to write the next chapters, to see where my imagination will take me next, and to learn more about the two biggest stars in video game history.**

 **I have far more planned for this series and if by any chance Mark Haynes is reading this, I hope that whatever ails you will be gone soon and that I am doing your terrific series justice.**

 **But for now, everyone please wait until I release the next episode of SMBZ! Sayonara!**

* * *

 _Mecha Sonic was almost torn apart. He was barely managing to keep himself in one piece. He was on his knees, waiting for his self-repair system to kick in. Shadow was standing above him, eyes filled with hate, body glowing with Chaos Energy. The effects of removing his limiters were starting to kick in, but he still had more than enough power to finish this._

 _But before he could move, Mecha Sonic stuck his arms out by his side and transformed them into copies Rouge's old weapons and opened fire on the walls around them. Shadow had no idea how to react to Mecha Sonic's seemingly random move. But he did know he needed to keep Rouge safe. He warped over to her and carried her in his arms. Then he warped again high above Mecha Sonic and floated in the air._

 _"Thanks for the save," Rouge said. She looked down at Mecha Sonic in confusion. "Just what does he think he's doing?"_

 _"I've no idea," Shadow replied. "And I don't care. As soon as it's safe to put you down, I'm ending this, once and for all!"_

 _"Aw. That's sweet of you. But even a psycho like Mecha Sonic wouldn't act this way for no reason. We need to-"_

 _Her voice was cut off as a large boulder smashed through the ceiling and nearly fell on top of them. Shadow teleported out of the way just in time. Only for another boulder to nearly fall on them._

 _And another._

 _And another._

 _"He's bringing down the fortress!" Rouge realized. "He's trying to bury us!"_

 _"Chaos-whoa!"_

 _Shadow nearly got hit by another boulder. So many were coming down that he didn't have time to fire an attack to stop Mecha Sonic's assault._

 _Eventually, there were just too many rocks to dodge all at once and one of them hit Shadow head on. In his fully powered form, it didn't hurt him. But the impact was enough to make Shadow let go of Rouge and the Chaos Emerald. Right into Mecha Sonic's line of fire._

 _"Rouge! No!" Shadow shouted. He floated down and checked to see if she was alright. He was so concerned he didn't even notice that_ _Mecha Sonic had stopped his assault._

 _The psychotic metal menace wasted no time running for the Chaos Emerald. He scooped it up with one hand and disappeared almost instantaneously._

 _"Chaos Control!"_

 _Mecha Sonic vanished._

 _And there was just Rouge, Shadow and Omega trapped in a room about to be buried. Shadow had never tried this without an Emerald before, but he knew that there was no other way to save his friends. He tapped into all the Chaos Power he had for this next act._

 _"Chaos Control!"_

 _With that shout, Shadow, Rouge and the remains of Omega all disappeared just as the rest of the fortress had completely collapsed on itself._

 _They all teleported on what was left of the base._

 _All of GUN Fortress was gone. All of GUN was gone. The men and women who gave their lives hoping that they could save the world doing so were all wrong._

 _But Shadow wasn't thinking about any of that. He ran for Rouge but fell down, his stamina drained. He got back up and hobbled towards her still form. Shadow fell on his knees next to her and shook her shoulders._

 _"Come on! Come on! Wake up already!"_

 _Rouge opened her eyes and turned to see Shadow nearly in tears._

 _"Heh," she coughed. "That's a new look for you. Can't say that I like it."_

 _"You're going to be okay! You and Omega will be okay! I'm going to find someone to-"_

 _"Shadow. Stop. There's no one else left. And even if there were you don't have the power to get to them." Rouge clutched her side as a stab of pain ran up her body. "You need to get to Sonic. You two are the only ones who stand a chance against that thing." Rouge groaned as she lifted her head up._

 _"I want you to take my necklace with you. Remember, e_ _ven if you believe everyone in the world will be against you. Know that I'll always remain by your side. Remember that. Remember me."_

 _Rouge closed her eyes and her head fell to the side._

 _"Rouge?" Shadow asked. "Rouge, stop playing get up! Rouge!? Rouge! RRRRROOOOOUUUUGGGGEEE!"_

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Shadow woke up and began violently thrashing without really looking. He could feel stuff breaking on his fists, he just didn't know or care what. He just wanted to destroy something.

That came to a halt when felt something hard and hairy smack into his forehead at high speed. Shadow landed on his back and rubbed where he was hit.

As he laid there, he heard "ooo"s and "aaa"s being shouted very fast. And at the same time he heard a conversation happening on his chest.

"What? He was freaking me out!"

"You could've, like, totally killed him. That thing's not a toy, dude! It's dangerous."

Shadow looked down and saw some sort of screen wrapped around is neck. He lifted the screen to his face and saw a line on rise and dip as the conversation was going. As the "ooo"s and "aaa"s continued.

"Oh gee! Thanks Einstein! I never would've figured out that a handsized coconut cannon could be dangerous! Brilliant observation skills!

"You two be quiet! The little whippersnapper seems to have come to his senses."

Shadow put down the screen and looked around him. He was in some kind of grass hut filled with medical equipment. In the room with him were a small rhino, some kind of bird and a large spider wearing sneakers. Stranger than that were the three apes standing over him. One had blond hair, dressed all in pink and was wielding some kind of wooden cannon. Another one had a tank-top, cut-off jean shorts, sunglasses and a polka-dotted bandana. The last one seemed old, as he was hunched over with a long white beard and gripping a cane.

"Who the hell are you guys?"


	26. Mario vs Mario-Part 1

"My name is Dr. Eggman!" Eggman tossed Bowser back on to the platform as if he weighed nothing. "And I always have a master plan! For example,"

* * *

"I've realized that after Mario and the rest of his team finished battling your buffoonish offspring, they'd make their way to the elevator to rescue the young princess held in your throne room.

So, I've had Mecha Mario exit through the escape hatch in my lab and fly straight to the top of the tower, where it would enter through the secret door I've installed without you noticing.

Once it was inside, all it had to do was point a rocket launcher at the elevator until it opened and then-"

* * *

BOOM!

"MAAAAAAARRRRIIIIIOOOOOO!"

* * *

"And there you have it! I will have accomplished in a matter of seconds what you've been failing to do for years! The Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom dies and it won't have been because of you, or your army, or your weapons. It will have been because of the brilliant mind of Dr. Eggman!"

Bowser got up on one knee and started laughing. Quietly at first, before bursting into uproarious laughter.

"You really think that's all it takes to bring that plumber down? If there's one thing that fighting that little pipsqueak has taught me, it's that there's next to nothing he can't take!"

* * *

Mario and the rest were blown out of the elevator and out of the Omega Doomship. The five of them were falling fast, with nothing but ocean miles below to break their fall.

Yoshi and Luigi's power-ups were gone but they were otherwise alright. Sonic, Mario and Stuffwell however were more banged up. Fortunately, it wasn't bad enough to knock them out.

They all looked around for a way to get back on the ship. Then Yoshi had an idea.

"Everybody hold on!"

The other three heroes quickly wrapped their arms around Yoshi while Yoshi gripped Stuffwell in his hands.

Yoshi shot out his tongue and it stuck to the side of the tower. He swung everyone around it, their combined weight straining Yoshi as he tried to hold on for dear life. Then, when they were just over the hull, he let go and all of them landed on the green metal exterior. They rolled and bumped before stopping.

They all checked themselves after getting up. They were bruised, panting, and still a little exhausted from all the fighting they had done recently. But otherwise, they were fine.

"We made it!" Luigi cheered.

"Like there was ever any doubt." Sonic boasted. "It's gonna take way more than that to stop us!"

"Good thinking, Yoshi." Mario complimented.

Yoshi gave the team a thumbs-up as he pulled his tongue back into his mouth.

* * *

"I'd bet you anything that whatever little bottle rocket you shoot at them, Mario and the rest will just laugh it off and go about their merry way."

* * *

"What the heck was that!?" Luigi shouted.

"I don't know. Some sorta ambush?" Sonic guessed.

"I believe Master Luigi means, 'who was responsible for the ambush?'." Stuffwell decided. "But I'm afraid we'll have to worry about that later. For now, we appear to have much bigger problems!"

* * *

"Nah. The only thing that stands a chance against him, is sheer overwhelming force!"

* * *

The rest of Bowser's army was still on the hull tending to the wounded. They all saw the explosion and the heroes daring save. They all drew closer to them, brows furrowed in anger, fists punching the air aching for some payback.

The team was still tired from battling the army last time, on top of fighting Basilisx/getting turned into stone, dealing with the Koopalings and getting blown up. But Sonic was still confident about their odds.

"Heh. These guys are persistent, I'll give them that."

"You don't really think we can win, do you?" Luigi asked him.

"Sure I do! I mean, we beat these guys already. If anything, they should be nervous about us!"

"Then what about him?" Mario said. He pointed to the sky and everyone followed where his arm led.

* * *

"Hmph!" Eggman said. "That may be. Luckily, a good scientist always checks his results."

* * *

Mecha Mario floated just above Bowser's army, his cold eyes staring directly at our heroes.

* * *

"And trust me, this latest creation of mine is nothing like any of them have ever seen before!"

* * *

Mecha Mario spoke in a cold, metallic voice.

"Accessing: Fire Flower."

Mecha Mario's overalls turned red. His hat and shirt became white and burning red flames wrapped around his fists.

"Okay," Sonic said. "This may be a problem."

* * *

"But enough prattle! I've played stooge to you for too long! This ends now!"

"Couldn't agree more, Egghead!"

"Basil-droids! Attack!"

All at once, dozens of Basil-droids leapt towards Bowser, claws drawn. Bowser faced them all and opened his mouth wide for a stream of fire to burst past his lips.

* * *

 **I decided to try something new and add music to this series. Think of this part as the opening credits for the show. Unfortunately, for some reason, I can't put links while editing these things so, I'm just gonna copy and paste the title of videos on Youtube.**

 **SONIC FORCES FIST BUMP (FULL VERSION) ANIMATED LYRIC (60 fps)**

 **I know that might be a bit long, but trust me it's worth it. Just write on the search bar in Youtube, click the first video and enjoy.**

 **Just sit back and enjoy the music before getting back to the story. Or listen to it while reading, I don't know. It's up to you.**

 **Have fun!**

* * *

Mecha Mario wasted no time blasting at our heroes. And Bowser's army seemed to take that as the cue to start charging right at them.

"Luigi," Mario said. "Give me a lift!"

Luigi cupped his hands and as soon as Mario put his foot down on them, Luigi threw him into the air just before the army converged. Luigi pulled out his hammer to swat them away while Sonic blitzed through them with a spin dash and Yoshi hid inside his egg to roll them over.

Mario meanwhile, pulled his hammer out and was ready to bash the impostor's head in. Mecha Mario's fireballs were putted aside with Mario's hammer strikes, hitting large portions of Bowser's army. But when Mario got close enough to swing his hammer at Mecha Mario's head, he disappeared.

Mario was shocked to see that he only hit air, but was even more shocked when he looked up and saw a large fire ball being pointed right in front of his face. Mecha Mario fired it and it sent Mario crashing into some more minions. Mecha Mario then charged at him from above. Mario just barely dodged his impostor's assault, making him punch the poor soldier directly under him through the hull.

Mario leapt forward and delivered a left hook and an uppercut, followed by a punch to its stomach. Mario kept up this assault, he didn't let up one bit. But it wasn't enough to stop Mecha Mario from uttering this next line.

"Accessing: Tanuki Suit."

All of a sudden, a Tanuki suit appeared around Mecha Mario's body and when Mario punched it, the robot turned itself into solid stone and Mario nearly broke his hand on contact. As Mario hopped around clutching his shattered fist, Mecha Mario turned back to normal and gave Mario a taste of his own medicine. He socked Mario in the jaw so hard, it send him plowing through a horde of enemies before smacking into the tower with enough force to fracture it. Mario was daze and the rest had taken notice.

"Mario!" Luigi screamed.

He was batting off enemies with his hammer but the sight of his brother being hurt distracted him long enough for the enemies to dog pile him. He was being crushed by the weight of all the foes pouring on top of him. Until Sonic and Yoshi came along and crashed into them, knocking them all off of him. Sonic grabbed Luigi's hand and lifted him up to his feet.

"You all right?" Sonic asked him.

"Mario needs our help! That crazy robot-!"

Speak of the Devil, Mecha Mario flew by faster than they could see them and grabbed Sonic by his midsection.

"Sonic!" Yoshi yelled.

"I'm fine!" Sonic assured. "Go save Mario!"

Sonic was not fine. The robot was squeezing him harder and harder. It felt like he was going to be split in half. Then Sonic noticed the Bullet Bills flying through the air behind Mecha Mario. He looked to the right and saw several manned Bill Blasters taking aim at Mario. Sonic put two fingers into his mouth and whistled, grabbing their attention. The Bill Blasters turned and fired just as Mecha Mario turned to see what Sonic was looking at. When he did, Mecha Mario was hit in the face by one of them, hard enough to make him let Sonic go.

Sonic ran out of there as fast as he could while Mecha Mario was being bombarded. As he ran, Sonic started thinking about where this robot could've come from.

 _That machine, only one guy in the world could've built something like it. And I don't mean this one..._

* * *

Bowser's fire breath melted about two dozen Basil-droids, but it didn't stop dozens more from going at him by the back. They scratched up his legs and arms but the Koopa King spun around and tripped them up with his tail. He then went inside his shell and jumped, knocking back several Basil-droids and landing back on the platform, where more of the robots charged at him front and back. As they charged, Bowser crushed them to pieces with his claw swipes, constantly having to turn around to avoid getting attacked.

"You know," Eggman said, "I should probably thank you. After all, a robot that could not only mimic an opponent's abilities, but could also mimic power-ups was a truly surprising stroke of genius coming from you. I almost wonder why you have such trouble with just one plumber. Almost."

Bowser didn't respond. He couldn't because the Basil-droids were coming in faster than Bowser could turn around. Instead, Bowser was forced to retreat into his shell. The Basil-droids did not hold back their assault as they repeatedly stab at the Koopa King's shell. Then they realized to stab through the holes to kill Bowser. But before the first strike made it through, Bowser's shell spun. It spun faster and faster, too fast for the Basil-droids to accurately predict where the claws would hit.

Then, before the robots could react, fire burst out from the holes of the shell as it spun, scorching several Basil-droids. Then the shell began to lift itself into the air.

Eggman's jaw was on the floor as this new development came out of left field for him. "What? What is this? I don't have any notes of you being able to do this before! So why are you doing this now!?"

Instead of answering Bowser's spinning shell launched at Eggman and his Eggmobile. Eggman panicked before piloting the ship upwards and narrowly avoiding Bowser. Bowser then bounced off the wall behind him and ricocheted into the line of Basil-droids on the platform. They all dodged out of the way before Bowser destroyed the platform, crashing through it and bouncing off the power source for the Doom Cannon.

"Careful with that!" Eggman yelled as Bowser continued to bounce around the room, hitting various Basil-droids who tried to dodge but not all were successful. "That battery is charged with the pure essence of hundreds of Starmans! (Starmen? Starmi? Whatever!) If it breaks, it could send the whole ship crashing into the ocean!"

After hearing Eggman's rant, Bowser was now able to get a good position of the doctor. The next time he hit a wall, he angles himself to charge directly at Eggman again.

"Gotcha!" Bowser shouted triumphantly.

Eggman gulped just before Bowser smacked into the side of the Eggmobile, knocking him off and onto the ground below. Eggman got up just in time to see Bowser bounce back towards him. Quickly, Eggman pulled out a remote and pressed a button. Right before he was going to collide with Eggman, a large, red metal arm with claws bursted through one of the boxes behind him and punched Bowser away,. Bowser skidded across the floor and turned back to normal. The metal arm returned to the box right before breaking itself out of it, revealing a large round robot made in Eggman's likeness.

"Hehehehe!" Eggman laughed. "Do you like it? It's a little present from ho-"

"Wait!" Bowser panted. He was clutching his stomach, his face turned green. "Wait. Doing that thing always makes me dizzy. I just gotta-" Bowser covered his mouth with both hands. He looked like he was gonna puke.

"Hey, are you okay?" Eggman asked while climbing aboard his hovercraft. "I got some antacid in the lab if you want."

"I'm fine. I just need a minute to-" Bowser ducked behind a box. Eggman didn't see what happened next but it involved some rather disgusting noises coming out of Bowser along with the sound of something splashing on the floor. Bowser stepped out and wiped his mouth. "Okay. I'm better now. Where were we again?"

Eggman was flying his hovercraft over the large Eggman robot. The robot's head was open to reveal a hatch beg enough for the egg-pod to slip into.

"Well, I was going to talk about how I recreated my mighty Death Egg Robot without you noticing," Eggman explained. As the pod descended into the hatch, the head closed around it. Eggman's voice came out of the robot's speaker. "But instead, I think I'm just going to kill you with it." Just as Eggman said that, the arm launched forward, straight at Bowser's heart.

Bowser stuck out both hands and grabbed the claw just before it reached him. Bowser yanked the arm forward and the robot flew towards him.

"Woah!"

Eggman was caught off-guard. But it wasn't long before he re-positioned the robot to collide into Bowser feet first and fire up its thrusters. Before the flames from the Death Egg Robot's feet could burn Bowser, Bowser let out his own flames trying to burn the robot. The two streams of fire countered each other and the robot flew away from Bowser and landed 10 yards away from him.

"Get through your think shell! It doesn't matter what kinda tin can you use!" Bowser shout. "Ain't no one gonna topple me! Especially not some fat old guy who ain't even from here!"

"Trust me, your Highness," Eggman said. "If an out of shape plumber could ruin your plans over and over again, I have no doubt how this will go. And once you're gone, the glorious reign of the Eggman Empire shall begin!"

"I think you've got way too many cracks inside that head of yours. But enough talking! This ends now!"

"I couldn't agree more!" A large gun emerged from the Death Egg Robot's chest. Everything flashed red as the burning hot laser fired directly at Bowser.


	27. Mario vs Mario-Part 2

Bullet Bills pounded at Mecha Mario but the robotic doppelganger didn't even budge. He took off right towards the Bill Blasters and the Koopas manning them.

"Accessing: Dash Pepper."

The robot's Tanuki Suit disappeared from its body. It's whole body turned red and it charged forward at blazing speeds. The Koopatrols couldn't even see the robot as it was flying right towards them. Or as it lifted a Bill Blaster and pointed it directly at them before it was too late. The soldiers looked up and trembled as their bosses secret weapon decided they were in the way.

"Accessing: Fire Flower."

The red faded from Mecha Mario's body, before coming back to replace the blue on his overalls as his hat and shirt were turned white. The machine channeled its fire powers into the cannon and bright orange flames danced out of the hole.

The Koopatroopa who used to be manning it shook in terror.

"Mommy..."

Luigi, Sonic, and Yoshi were fending off the legions of soldiers coming at them. Luigi was swinging wildly with his hammer, Sonic Spin Dashed into enemies faster than they could react or even see, and Yoshi was pulling enemies into his mouth and spitting them out at other enemies. Our heroes were getting tired and the onslaught of foes seemed to be never-ending. But they had to keep going, they had to give Stuffwell enough time to wake Mario up.

"Come on, Master Mario!" Stuffwell shouted. "You must awaken! Your friends need you!' Stuffwell pushed his square body against Mario's unconscious form.

"Any luck, Stuffwell?" Sonic asked him between attacks.

"Yeah, we're kinda getting swarmed here!" Yoshi yelled.

"I'm afraid not, Masters. Master Mario appears to have sustainified major injuries during his fight with the impostor."

"Where did that thing even come from?" Yoshi asked.

Sonic had a pretty good idea, but he decided not to say anything until he was absolutely sure. The others already had plenty to worry about.

"I'm more concerned about when it's coming back!" Luigi declared.

The Mecha Mario had just finished blowing its last victim to kingdom come before turning back and seeing the rest of the army standing between him and the heroes. Mecha Mario dropped the Bill Blaster.

"Accessing: Volt Mushroom."

Mecha Mario's outfit turned back to normal, but his body was now surging with static electricity. He punched the hull and waves of electricity surged through, electrocuting the army as it made its way for our heroes.

Sonic noticed the enemies spazzing out in the back and saw that more of them were being shocked with each passing second. He grabbed hold of Mario and Stuffwell.

"Everybody jump!" He shouted.

Yoshi and Luigi complied and Sonic leapt high into the air with the rest of the team in tow. And good thing too, for the robot's electrical strike had nearly reached them.

"What was that?" Luigi asked.

As if to answer his question, Mecha Mario appeared in front of him and punched him back to the ground, landing head-first with his body sticking out. Luigi tried to pull his head out, but it was no use, he was stuck.

Mecha Mario directed his palm towards Luigi and was about to fire a bolt of electricity, but Yoshi kicked him and they both fell away from him. When they landed, Mecha Mario got up to see Yoshi blowing a raspberry at him.

"Accessing: Fire Flower."

After seeing its fire powers return, Yoshi curled up in an egg and ran as fast as it could, with Mecha Mario right behind him shooting fireballs.

Sonic landed next to Luigi and set Mario and Stuffwell down. Sonic wrapped his arms around Luigi's waist and pulled him out of the hole.

Luigi cradled his head and tried to ease his splitting headache.

"Mamma Mia..."

"Master Mario still has not woken up!" Stuffwell said. "What should we do?"

"We gotta think of something," Sonic said, "cause with just the three of us, that Mecha Mario is just gonna keep kicking our butts!"

"Might I suggest that now would be a good time to utilize the Chaos Emeralds?"

"No way! Whoever sent that robot, they're probably after the Emeralds themselves. And I doubt it's so they could give everyone in the world free chili dogs. We can't let that robot have any chance of getting them. We're keeping them hidden, where they're safe!"

"Don't we still have that wand or something?" Luigi groggily asked.

"Excellent thinking Master Luigi!" Stuffwell said. "I am sure that Master Mario has it on his personage."

Sonic checked Mario's pockets until he found the wand.

"Got it!" The hedgehog shouted. He lifted it high into the air and shouted, "Crash Bandicoot!"

Nothing happened.

Sonic looked at the wand in confusion and annoyance and then shook and hit it, trying to get it to work.

"Would you be so kind as to let me analyze that, Master Sonic?" Stuffwell asked. Sonic held it in from of him and the little suitcases eyes turned green as he scanned it. "I was afraidified of this. The wand is out of power!"

"Well that's just great!" Sonic snarked. "It's not like we'd want to stand a chance or anything! Are you sure there's nothing left?"

"There might be enough power left for one more spell, but I'm afraid it'll have to be a small one."

"Incoming!" Luigi shouted.

He ducked, and as Sonic and Stuffwell turned to see a giant flaming egg hurtling towards them at mach speeds, the both of them followed suit before it could smash into them. Mario however was unable to do so and both he and the egg kept going until they crashed into the tower again. The egg cracked open to reveal a heavily battered Yoshi, who fell to the floor with a thud. Mario fell on top of him. Luckily, the shock of the experience woke him up.

"Uuugh..." Though he probably wished it hadn't.

Sonic and the others ran towards them.

"Master Mario!" Stuffwell shouted. "Are you all right?"

Mario struggled to get up before responding to Stuffwell.

"I honestly don't know what to say to that." Mario straightened out his back, where it made loud clicking sounds. "What just hit me?"

"That..." Yoshi, still lying on the ground, pointed forward at the hovering form of Mecha Mario. "And it's gonna keep hitting us."

"Accessing: Hammer Suit."

A Hammer Suit appeared over Mecha Mario's body. Faster than the eye could see, its arms spun around, hurling a hailstorm of hammers at out heroes.

* * *

Bowser tucked into his shell and spun just before the Death Egg robot's laser made contact. The laser harmlessly bounced off him, crashing into the walls and destroying boxes filled with more of the Doctor's creations. Seeing this, Eggman stopped his assault, giving Bowser the opportunity to strike.

He got out of his shell and breathed a fireball at the scientist. Afterward, he rushed forward and began punching the robot at the leg. Not even dented by this, the Death Egg Robot turned one of its hands into a drill and tried to pierce the Koopa King. Bowser grabbed it and stopped the drill from running right through him, but Eggman just made the robot flicked its arm, sending Bowser back flying.

As he soared, sparks started to surround the robot's eyes.

"Take this!" Eggman shouted.

Just as Bowser landed, two beams of electricity blasted out of the machine's eyes and zapped Bowser. As Bowser was being electrocuted, the robot walked over. It raised one arm into the air and flattened the monster. Bowser bounced into the air and the Death Egg robot kicked him even farther away. The robot marched for him again, but Bowser was done taking a beating. He leapt at the Death Egg robot and pinned it to the ground.

He was trying to get to Eggman inside the mech suit. He scratched at the robot with his claws and then tried to melt it with his fire breath. But Eggman pushed a button on his Eggmobile that made a bounce pad pop out off the robot's chest, pushing Bowser off of him.

"Oh ho ho!" Eggman laughed. "How did you like that?"

Eggman pressed another button and the robot's shoulders rose up to reveal several missile launchers. Bowser went back in his shell and spun around, barely dodging the missiles as they were fired. Bowser was spinning right towards Eggman. Eggman tried to smash his fist down again but Bowser curled out of his shell and jumped out of the way. Eggman jabbed at him with the drill again but Bowser once more kept it from piercing him, this time actually ripping it out of the robot.

Bowser threw the drill overhand and it landed on top of the robot's head, rattling its pilot. Bowser went behind it and tripped it up. As the robot landed on its back, Bowser ran towards its head and held on to it. It pulled with all his strength and managed to rip the Death Egg Robot's head off, revealing its pilot. In a panic, Eggman pushed more buttons, making the robot stand back up before Bowser could grab him.

The Death Egg Robot leapt up and tried to flatten the Koopa King. Bowser jumped out of the way and grabbed the drill off of the ground. He held it right in front of him and breathed fire into its back, causing the actual drill to blast off like a rocket straight for the robot. Eggman ejected right before the drill hit the robot's chest and went straight through it.

He landed on his feet right in front of him and adjusted his glasses. Seething with rage, Bowser raised a clawed hand and charged straight at Eggman. As soon as he was within range, Bowser swiped at the doctor's head. But Eggman merely leaned out of the way. And while Bowser was in mid-attack, Eggman punched him in the face with the force to knock him into several boxes on the far wall.

"As a man of science, normally, I detest resorting to such barbarism," Eggman explained.

Bowser got up and shook off the pieces of wood and robot parts on him. He looked to see Eggman slowly approaching him, followed by a squadron of Basil-droids.

"But I must admit, the feeling of your knuckles on your enemies face is a sensation I long overlooked. I can see the appeal to this sort of violence."

Bowser looked around him to see the Basil-droids swarming closer to him. He got on the defensive as the robots unsheathed their claws.

"But no matter how I get to see you die, I think it'll be just as satisfying none the less."

"If you think you're scaring me, you're dumber than I thought," Bowser asked. "You know by now that your cheap robots don't stand a chance against me."

"Yes. An unfortunate result of only having so much to work with. But, I still believe they'll get the job done, with a little..." Eggman brought his hands together and cracked his knuckles, "...outside assistance."

Bowser lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"Heh..." The Koopa King let out a single chuckle. He raised his head to stare his former chief scientist in the eye. "Bring it."

Eggman rushed in, followed by his army of remaining Basil-droids, all as Bowser let out a mighty roar.

* * *

 **Hi! I'm back!**

 **Sorry it took so long, but you know how it is. Assignments, video games, general laziness, but I'm back with another part to the SMBZ fan-reboot!**

 **Sorry this one isn't as long or as plot-heavy as the others, but I figured it'd be a good place to get back on track.**

 **This Eggman v Bowser fight was inspired by One Minute Melee. Check out their Youtube Channel to see it for yourself.**

 **I''ll be bringing you Mario vs Mario-Part 3 very soon. TTFN!**


	28. Mario vs Mario-Part 3

Our heroes stared slack-jawed as thousands of hammers rained down upon them. Luigi screamed and clung to his brother as it seemed that the end has finally caught up with them. The sound snapped Sonic out of his shock and he quickly formed an idea.

"Everyone hang on to each other! Now!"

The other four headed his advice and clung closely. With just seconds to spare, Sonic ran as fast as he could around his teammates, creating a whirlwind that separated them from the outside. Including the hammers.

When the hammers collided with the whirlwind, they were immediately swept up in the high speed winds created by Sonic's running. Not a single one of them hit our protagonists.

When Sonic saw that more hammers weren't hailing from the sky, he stopped running, sending all the hammers right back to their sender. The robot looked up to see his own weapons used against him.

"Activating: Metal Mushroom."

The Hammer Suit disappeared and the impostor's entire body turned shiny and grey. The hammers fell right on top of him. Our heroes saw their enemy be swallowed up by the tide of raining weapons. But when it was over, they gaped in horror as they saw that the hammers had bounced off Mecha Mario's body. He didn't even have a scratch on him.

"No way..." Sonic said.

"It didn't do anything to him." Mario stated.

"What are we going to do?!" Luigi screamed.

"You guys think of something! I'll keep him busy!" Sonic told them.

Sonic charged up for a Light-Speed Dash attack. When he was done, he zoomed forward at the mechanical menace faster than the eye could see. He was an unstoppable force. Unfortunately, Metal Mecha Mario was an immovable object. When the two of them met, Sonic bounced off his foe and was shocked to learn that he hurt himself instead of him. The machine punched Sonic in the face and the blue hedgehog skidded across the ship. When he stopped, he got up and nursed the bruise on his left cheek.

"Okay... You're tough... No doubt about that," Sonic panted. "But are you fast enough?"

Instead of answering, Mecha Mario activated his rockets and charged right towards him. He readied his metallic fist. He was inches away from Sonic. But just as he threw his punch, Sonic disappeared. The robot skidded to a halt and looked to see where his quarry had disappeared to.

"Looks like that's a no."

Mecha Mario turned around and swung his fist behind him, only for Sonic to not be there either.

"Hey, I think you were close that time!"

On and on this went, with Mecha Mario trying to hit him and Sonic taunting him.

"Swing and a miss!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Not happening, pal!"

"Too bad!"

"So sad!"

Back with the rest of our main cast, the heroes were trying to decide a plan of attack.

"How do we beat someone when they can pull out whatever power-up they want?" Luigi asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is quite the conundrum, Master Luigi." Stuffwell replied.

"If only we could a-get some more power-ups, we can show that faker whose boss!" Mario said.

"Yes, but I'm afraid procuring power-ups would be impossiprobable at the moment. I don't see any boxes here and the wand we've procured is nearly out of power."

"Can't we just use the Chaos Emeralds and end this already? Even if we use just one it would definitely put that phony Mario in his place-Ow!" Yoshi said before clutching his side in pain.

"We can't risk Bowser getting his grubby claws on the Emeralds. Just one of those things could make him a bigger threat than ever! I don't think even the Star Rod could match those things." Mario explained.

"Master Mario is right," Stuffwell said. "The potential of Bowser gaining the Emerald's power is far too much of a risk. Master Sonic said so earlier."

"So now what?" Yoshi complained. "We just sit here, twiddling our thumbs while Sonic plays try not to die with that _thing_?"

"Well he seems to be doing fine so far," Luigi pointed out. "Look." Luigi pointed at Sonic and Mecha Mario and everyone turned their attention back to them.

Sonic had started to literally run circles around him, taunting the robot incessantly.

"You're too slow! You're too slow!"

Realizing that it was unable to keep up with Sonic, Mecha Mario began to transform once more.

"Accessing: Fire Flower."

Mecha Mario lost his metal powers in exchange for those of the fire flower. He pointed his hands downward and let loose a torrent of flame. Sonic jumped. Mecha Mario looked up to see the blue hedgehog high over his head.

"Accessing: Volt Mu-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sonic Spin Dashed right on top of him, stopping him from transforming. Sonic landed on his feet and turned around to look at his enemy, not really used to fighting a metal knockoff that wasn't of him.

As Mecha Mario got up to his feet, Sonic had a sly smirk on his face.

"Try to keep up," Sonic said before running from his opponent at high speeds. Mecha Mario fired up his rockets and chased after him, hurling fireballs along the way.

"I say, Masters, did you see that?" Stuffwell said to the others.

"Mm-hmm," Mario said. "After Sonic interrupted his power-up switch, he didn't change."

"So if we could keep hitting him, he won't be able to use his powers!" Yoshi explained.

"But how are we going to do that?" Luigi asked. "Even without any power-ups, he's still super strong and has a ton of weapons. It would take an army to keep him from fighting back."

A loud groan derailed our heroes' train of thought. The team's attention was drawn to a Goomba lying on his face slowly waking up, as well as several other members of Bowser's army.

"Well, I'd say we have all the army we need right here," Mario boasted. He walked up to the nearest Koopatroopa and knocked on his head twice. "Hey, hello! Are you up?" The Koopa slowly lifted his head and glared at the plumber.

"What do you want?" The Koopa asked disgustedly.

"Are you in charge here?"

"What's it to ya?"

"We can't-a keep up this battle. If we're going to a-have any chance of beating this fake-a me, we need your help."

"You're kidding right? After years of kicking our shells and making our king look like an idiot, why the heck would we lift a finger to help you?"

Just then an explosion was heard followed by the sound of several people screaming. Mario and the Koopatroopa looked to see Sonic running through the defeated army with Mecha Mario on his back firing fireballs. No matter how many he fired, Mecha Mario couldn't land a single one on Sonic. But they did all land on Bowser's forces as large chunks of the fallen soldiers were blasted into the air and left behind as an afterthought. As Sonic led Mecha Mario away from the soldiers, the head koopatroopa turned to Mario.

"All right, we're in."

"Excellent! Everyone gather around, I a-have an idea."

* * *

Back at the ships' undercarriage, Bowser had erected a wall of flame around him with his fire breath. The fire reached all the way to the ceiling, stopping Dr. Eggman and the Basil-droids in their tracks. Silence fell over the room, Bowser couldn't see anything past the fire and could only hear the crackling of his improvised defense. Bowser thought he could finally catch his breath, just for dozens of Basil-droids to pop out of the flames, claws extended and not a singe on them.

Acting on instinct, Bowser hid inside his shell and leapt up, knocking several Basil-droids out of the way. Back on the platform, he punched and swiped as fast as he could swatting away as many Basil-droids as he could. But they just kept coming and for every one he hit, two more would come and hack at him.

Knowing he needed some distance, Bowser punched the floor underneath him and fell down. As he fell, he noticed the Doom Cannon's power source and remembered what Eggman said about it.

"That battery is charged with the pure essence of hundreds of Starmans! (Starmen? Starmi? Whatever!) If it breaks, it could send the whole ship crashing into the ocean!"

 _That's it!_ Bowser realized. _If I can get some of that Starman power, I can remind that good-for-nothin' "Doctor" who's boss! I just have to get closer!_

Bowser pressed the bottom of his feet to the wall. And as he slid down, he bent his knees and jumped straight for the battery. As he flew, Basil-droids kept coming at him. Bowser swiped away those charging at his front while his back was protected by his own shell. The battery was close, if he could punch through it, he could get all the power he needs to crush Eggman.

Almost.

Almost.

"Not quite."

"Huh?" Bowser said confused, right before Dr. Eggman swatted him away like a fly. Bowser landed nearly halfway from where he leapt. Bowser didn't even see Eggman coming. He just appeared right in front of him, less than a couple yards away from the battery.

"Please, tell me. What part of "Don't touch this or you'll blow up the ship" don't you understand?"

"Hey, if this ship's gotta go down, I'll be happy to know that you went down with it!"

Bowser went back in his shell and spun around again, releasing fire from every open hole. Bowser flew high over the floor and his flames grew brighter and brighter. So bright, that Eggman and the Basil-droids had to cover their eyes. With all of them blinded, Bowser got out of his shell and dropped straight down towards the battery claws first.

Eggman blinked away the colors and looked up to see the incoming Bowser.

"Get him you idiots!"

The Basil-droids leaped towards Bowser with their own claws raised. Bowser returned to his shell and spun around, deflecting all of them. Eggman decided to finally take matters into his own hands and jumped straight up towards his opponent. Bowser curled out of his shell, grabbed a Basil-droid by the wrist and threw it claws-first at its creator. Eggman dodged out of the way and continued forward towards Bowser, his fist raised to sock the Koopa King in the stomach.

But just as he was inches away from him, Bowser leaned back, barely avoiding his punch. Both combatants felt almost as if they were in slow-motion as they passed each other. Bowser pointed straight down with a clenched fist leading his fall. Eggman looked down to see where he was landing.

"Noooo!"

Right underneath Bowser was a Basil-droid with his claws stuck inside the Doom Cannon's battery. The robot couldn't pull out in time before Bowser's fist landed on him, crushing him into scrap and blowing right through the battery's hull. A bright flash of light poured out and swallowed Bowser. It was brighter than Bowser's flame, brighter than anyone in that room had ever seen before. Eggman and the Basil-droids were once again forced to cover their eyes.

When they uncovered them, they were staring at Bowser. This time, the Koopa King wasn't plummeting towards them overhead. He was just standing there, as his body radiated rainbow colored light. He was covered head to toe in the very essence of the Starman.

Bowser lifted up his head and glared at Eggman.

"Heh," Bowser laughed. "Looks like the tables have turned. And it's about time!"

"Grrrrrrrrr!" Eggman could do nothing but growl in frustration. Attacking now would just waste more Basil-droids. He had to come up with a plan but all he could do was stand there as Bowser breathed in while cursing Eggman's name.

"Eggman!" Bowser bellowed. As he sucked in more air, he reared his head back farther and farther. "You're...FIRED!"

Upon saying this, Bowser released a stream of rainbow colored flames. They swallowed the doctor up as well as several dozen Basil-droids standing behind him. The force of the flames pushed him into the far wall, crushing him with its overwhelming power. Eggman couldn't even scream as Bowser's fire breath immolated everything it touched.

And then it was over. Bowser's onslaught had ended, just at the same time the power-up had disappeared. Bowser jumped off the battery and walked towards Eggman. Without their leader to command them, the Basil-droids were as still as death.

Eggman was still in one piece. He didn't move and steam was rising off of him, but he was slumped, immobile. Defeated.

Bowser stood right in front of his former chief scientist.

"Heh," he laughed. "And that's why I'M the boss. You never stood a chance against me, you crazy old backstabber!" Bowser raised a clawed hand high into the air. "And now, for coup de grace!"

Bowser swing his hand and his claws ripped right into Eggman's chest. Bowser lifted his still body, his mouth twisted into a triumphant and malicious grin. Only for that grin to disappear as soon as he saw what was coming out of the doctor.

"Wh-what the-?!"

* * *

Back topside, Sonic was still giving Mecha Mario the run-around while the robot was shooting fireballs at a rapid pace.

"Hey buddy!" Sonic shouted. "You might actually hit me if you bother to aim!"

Sonic sounded confident but he knew this couldn't go on forever. He couldn't shake Mecha Mario off at his current speed and if he tried to go faster he'd risk falling off the ship. All he could do was run and hope that he bought his friends enough time to come up with a plan.

"Sonic! Run this way!"

Sonic turned to see Mario waving his hands on the other side of the fallen army. He didn't know what Mario was thinking, but he decided to trust the plumber's instincts.

Sonic turned right and straight towards his Mario, with the plumber's metal counterpart on his tail. Sonic ran closer and closer to Mario until the plumber jumped high above him. Sonic looked up and watched as Mario did a front flip while pulling out his hammer, then did another front flip, slamming the hammer down on Mecha Mario's head.

As the impostor's head was lodged in the hull of the ship, Mario jumped back next to Sonic.

"Please tell me there's a step two to this." Sonic said.

"It's-a already under way!" Mario assured.

Just then, Mecha Mario pulled his head out and glared at our two heroes.

Mario gulped. "I hope..."

Mecha Mario's arm turned into a missile launcher and fired.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luigi, Yoshi, and Stuffwell were standing in the middle of the fallen army watching Sonic and Mario battle Mecha Mario.

"I hope he'll be alright," Luigi said, concerned. He scratched his head with the magic wand.

"Don't worry about it. He's Mario, remember?" Yoshi reassured.

"Right now, we must focus on phase two of our objective," Stuffwell said. "Do you remember the spell I told you, Master Luigi?"

"I think so," Luigi answered uncertain.

"All right. I am going to open up. You must grab a Chaos Emerald as quickly as possible, otherwise, Mecha Mario might detect us."

Stuffwell opened his case to reveal five brilliantly colored Chaos Emeralds for Luigi to choose.

* * *

Back between Mario, Sonic, and Mecha Mario, the robot had been blocking attacks from both heroes. Sonic tried to hit him with a spin dash but Mecha Mario grabbed him, spun around and threw him at Mario. As the two of them were sent flying back, Mecha Mario fired two missiles at them. The missiles hit, sending them sky high just for Mecha Mario to grab their necks and dive back down onto the Omega Doomship.

The two of them tried to pull out, but Mecha Mario's grip just kept getting tighter. Our heroes couldn't breath, they felt like their heads would pop off. Mecha Mario stared at them with red unfeeling eyes. But then, he looked up and his grip lessened.

In Mecha Mario's vision, it detected the presence of several Chaos Emeralds. He turned his head 180 degrees to see Luigi pull a Chaos Emerald out of Stuffwell.

Sonic and Mario took the opportunity to kick Mecha Mario in the stomach region. After he let go, the two of them pounced on him with a flurry of kicks and punches. Mecha Mario grabbed Sonic's foot and used it to smash Mario in the head. Repeatedly.

"Hurry it up, Luigi!" Sonic grumbled.

Mecha Mario dropped Sonic and flew off after Luigi.

"Now, Master Luigi!" Stuffwell shouted. "Chant the spell now!"

"Aagh! Uh-!" Luigi panicked before remembering what the spell was. He touched the bottom of the wand to the Chaos Emerald and shouted the magic word."Medi-"

Unfortunately, Luigi was only able to say half the spell before Mecha Sonic delivered a hyper-fast punch to the face.

The Chaos Emerald and the wand flew high into the air. Mecha Mario stuck his hand out for the Chaos Emerald to land in it only for a tongue to wrap around and pull it away just in the nick of time.

Mecha Mario turned around to see Yoshi hiding the Chaos Emerald in his mouth. Mecha Mario pulled out a rocket launcher and pointed it straight at him. Yoshi looked at the rocket launcher with a face that said "not again." The missile fired and Yoshi was swept away by a certain Blue Blur. The rocket exploded where Yoshi once stood and Mecha Mario's head was bounced off of by the real deal.

Sonic dropped Yoshi next to Luigi and Stuffwell, "Why did you do that? I told you to keep the Chaos Emerald safe!"

"We were aware of the riskotomy, Master Sonic," Stuffwell said as Luigi reached into Yoshi's mouth to pull out the Chaos Emerald, "but we believe to have a plan that will stop Mecha Mario and allow us to rescue the princess."

"Well, whatever it is make it a-quick!" Mario shouted while struggling to hold off a flying Mecha Mario heading towards his friends. "I don't know how much longer I can-AAAAH!"

Mecha Mario managed to push Mario out of the way and was heading right towards the others.

"Now, Luigi! NOW" Yoshi shouted.

Luigi placed the wand on top of the Chaos Emerald. The Emerald's blue glow crawled over the wand, changing the color on the tip to match its hue. Luigi shouted at the top of his lungs, "MEDIEVIL!" The wand glowed brighter and then hundreds of 1-up mushrooms flew out of it like an exploding volcano. The mushrooms flew into the air before succumbing to gravity.

Everyone stood in awe at this rain of 1-ups, even Mecha Mario, who was so busy trying to understand the situation, he didn't notice that the mushrooms were working their magic on the fallen soldiers around them. One by one, the forces of the Bowser Kingdom got back on their feet. Only now does Mecha Mario turn around to see he's been surrounded.

One Koopa soldier raised his fist in the air and shouted to the rest of the troops.

"ATTACK!"

The soldiers yelled as they rushed straight at Mecha Mario.

"Accessing: Metal Mushro-"

Mecha Mario was interrupted by a headbutt from a Goomba.

"Accessing: Volt Mushro-"

This time it was a shell attack from behind by a Koopa soldier.

"Accessing: Fire Flo-"

"Accessing: Cat S-"

"Accessing:"

"Accessi-"

"Acce-"

No matter how hard he tried, Mecha Mario couldn't access any of his power-ups. He was being attacked by all angles by the people he obliterated without even trying.

The Koopa raised his voice again, "DOGPILE!"

Then all of Bowser's forces jumped up and pinned Mecha Mario to the ground. Those on the bottom kept beating him down, and for all of Mecha Mario's strength, there were just too many of them. He was trapped.

"Thanks for the help, guys!" Yoshi yelled at them.

"Remember, this is a one time thing!" One of the soldiers yelled.

"As soon as this robot's down for good, we're coming after you!" Another one shouted.

"Good luck with that," Sonic said.

"Come on!" Mario urged while running towards the aft of the ship. "The faster we get going the faster we can save Peach!"

"Right behind you, bro!" Luigi said.

All of our raced to rescue Princess Peach before anything else could happen. Bowser's forces continued to pummel on Mecha Mario, keeping him from going after them until...

"OW!"

"What's wrong, man?" A Goomba asked a Koopatroopa next to him.

"You punched me in the face!" The Koopa accused.

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, ya did!"

"Dude, I don't even have hands!"

"Well if you didn't do it, then who did?"

"I don't know. Ask him!" The Goomba was referring to the Koopa next to him.

The first Koopa turned to him and did just that. "Hey you!" He told him "Did you punch me in the face?"

"No, I was a little busy punching _this robot_ in the face!" The second Koopa said.

"If I could interject, gentleman," a third Koopa interjected, "I believe that fellow over there is the culprit." He said this pointing at another Goomba.

"Hey!" The Goomba protested. "What part of 'no arms' don't you understand?"

This argument continued to go on, dragging more people into it and taking their attention away from Mecha Mario. Giving him an opportunity he did not go to waste.

"Accessing: Mega Mushroom."

* * *

Our heroes stood in front of the tower where Peach was being held against her will. They looked up to the top floor, wondering how they were going to get up there from the outside.

"Hey, Mario?" Luigi said. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare Cat Suit, would you?"

"Nope," Mario answered. "And I'm pretty sure that was the only one we had."

"It can never just be easy, can it?" Yoshi asked dejectedly.

"Guys, relax. I got this," Sonic said confidently. "I'll just run up the tower and grab Peach faster than you can say 'hold the mushrooms.'"

"Can you really run up an entire tower this big?" Luigi asked him.

"They don't call me the 'fastest thing alive' for nothing! All I need is a running start."

Sonic got in position to do just that. He began to run in place, his legs moving faster and faster until they resembled a blue figure eight.

"Ready! Go!"

But just as Sonic took off, the ship began to shake, making him trip and fall down on his face. Everyone else struggled to maintain their balance the ship kept shaking.

"Wh-what's happening!?" Mario asked.

"My sensors indicate that the source of all this quakery is coming from over there!" Stuffwell stated.

Everyone else looked behind them to see the mountain of soldiers piled on top of Mecha Mario was shaking the most. Koopas and Goombas fell off the shaking intensified until a giant Mecha Mario burst free from under them, sending them flying all over the ship, and a few of them hurtling off it. Our heroes watched in horror as Mecha Mario grew and grew right before their very eyes. And then he stopped, towering above them at over half the height they were just looking at.

Now all of their attention was drawn towards Mecha Mario as he took his first step right towards them.

Yoshi wailed, "Why can't it ever be easy!?"


	29. Mario vs Mario-Part 4

Our heroes stood with their mouths agape as Mega Mecha Mario slowly walked towards them. They had fought so hard to bring Mecha Mario down, but instead he got up stronger than ever.

"Guys," Luigi said. Everyone turned to him. "I don't think I can-a keep going."

"I agree," Stuffwell added, "with all the brawlery going on today, Master Luigi and the rest of you must be quite exhausted."

And they were. Between Basilisx, the Koopa Kids and the Magikoopas, and of course Mecha Mario, our heroes were really starting to feel burned out.

"I insist that all of you must rest," Stuffwell said.

"Tell him that," Yoshi pointed out to the steadily approaching Mecha Mario.

"He's-a right," Mario said. "We're all tired, Luigi. But we can't a-rest until he's down and the princess is safe."

"We just need to keep going a little longer. We've all faced worse than him, right?"

"Right. We just need to beat him and then we can all take a break, okay Luigi?"

"But, how do we beat him?" Luigi asked. "Our only plan went up in smoke."

"We'll come up with a way," Mario assured him. "We always do."

Mario lent Luigi a hand and his brother grabbed it. He pulled him up and turned to face Mecha Mario along with the other heroes.

"Very well, Masters," Stuffwell stood alongside them. "If you are all going to fight against this loathsome facsimile, then I shall aid you in whatever way I am able."

"Thank you, Stuffwell," Mario said.

"Here he comes!" Yoshi yelled.

Mecha Mario stood right in front of them. He rose high over their heads, our heroes forced to practically look all the way up just to see his face glaring down on them. His eyes glowed as red as embers. He lifted his foot one more time, right over Mario and the others. The team got into ready position as the giant foot descended. But just as they were going to jump out of the way, it stopped.

"Huh?" Luigi said.

Everyone looked on in confusion as the robot set its foot back to where it was.

"What's it doing?" Mario asked.

Mecha Mario's eyes turned from red to green, and the Mega Mushroom's effect turned off. The robot shrank back to its normal size and hovered in the air with it's jet boosters.

Sonic let out a confused "Uhhhh?" not knowing what to expect next.

Mecha Mario looked down and flew straight through the hull at top speed. Everyone jumped back as they saw the robot create a massive hole right in front of him. They could still hear the sound of Mecha Mario going through more floors beneath them.

"What just happened?" Yoshi asked.

"I must admit, I do not know Master Yoshi," Stuffwell answered. "Perhaps, it's batteries were running low and it needed to recharge?"

Everyone screamed as they ship began to rock. They could feel the ground beneath them begin to tip down and down, as the clouds around them started to rise.

"Oh, great!" Sonic yelled. "Now what?"

* * *

When Bowser heard the weird noise coming up above, he looked up and wondered what was going on. His attention completely removed from Dr. Eggman, and recharged from the Starmen's power, Bowser got ready for another fight. But he could never expect who he'd be facing next.

The sound of metal being ripped apart grew louder and closer until...

BOOM!

Mecha Mario tore through the last floor of the ship and hovered in the air.

"Figures you were workin' for him. Now, I'd rather take on the real Mario, but I wager that ripping you apart bolt by bolt will be almost as satisfying!"

Bowser curled up in his shell and rocketed straight towards him. Mecha Mario charged after his enemy and flown out of the way, making Bowser crash into the ceiling next to the large hole.

Mecha Mario stopped in front of Eggman's defeated form. He reached into the scientist's robotic chest and ripped something out of it.

Bowser dropped to the floor several feet behind him. Mecha Mario turned around.

"All right, robo-runt! You have ten seconds to put that down, before I put _you_ down! One!Tw-"

Before he could finish, Mecha Mario turned his free hand into a rocket launcher and fired at Bowser. Bowser barely managed to jump out of the way, only for the missiles to hit their real target: the Doom Cannon battery.

Bowser gaped in awe and terror, as rainbow colored beams of light burst out of the device. Mecha Mario shot another rocket into the ship's hull. The large hole began sucking up everything in the room, Mecha Mario, Bowser, Eggman, several Basil-droids, and some boxes containing Eggman's weapons. All of them managed to get off the ship before the battery exploded, taking out the entire bottom floor and the engine with it.

* * *

Back topside, our heroes were struggling not to slide off the ship as it began to fall out of the sky.

"W-what's happening!?" Luigi stammered.

"That fake Mario must've blown up the engine or something!" Yoshi suggested.

"Masters," Stuffwell said, "I've memorized the location of the Sky Pop Mark II. I highly recommend that we return and evacuate the ship posthaste."

"No!" Mario stated firmly. "Not without Peach." Mario walked up to Yoshi and stuck his hand out. Yoshi understood the command and plopped his tongue on Mario's open palm. Mario grabbed it and pointed at both Yoshi and Stuffwell.

"You and you," he barked, "onto the Yoshi. Now!"

Luigi immediately picked up Stuffwell and hopped up on Yoshi's back. Meanwhile, Mario walked towards Sonic with his steed's tongue still in his hand.

"Uh, Mario?" Sonic asked. "Would you mind telling me what's going on here?"

"I am going to rescue the princess," Mario explained as he wrapped Yoshi's tongue around Sonic's torso, "you are going to get everyone back to the Sky Pop before the Doomship crashes into the ocean."

"I'm not just gonna leave you behind," Sonic protested. "What happened to being a team?"

"We're still a team," Mario assured, "that's why only one of us has to stay behind while you get everyone to safety."

"Well, why don't I just-"

"There isn't enough room on Yoshi to carry all of us back to the plane," Mario explained, just finishing tying Yoshi to Sonic. "Just find it and Luigi will fly it out of the ship and towards the tower where the princess and I will meet you, deal?"

Sonic saw the intense look in Mario's eyes. They had the same resolve Sonic saw in Shadow's eyes. The kind that said 'this is _not_ up for discussion.'

Sonic nodded his head. "Deal."

"Thank you." Mario walked up and stood in front of the tower. He looked up at it and saw that it was now at a steep for him to run up and reach Peach but definitely not easy. Mario gulped from the anxiety, there was only one way to the princess and not enough time to do it. Even if he could make it up there, there might not be enough time for the rescue party.

"I should tell you," Sonic said, shocking Mario out of his doubt, "we'll probably make it to the plane and get outta here before you're even halfway up there. It'd be pretty rude to keep us waiting, y'know."

Mario's look of concern was replaced with a wry grin.

"Hmph," Mario laughed. "Let's a-see if you're really as fast as you say you are, hedgehog."

"With pleasure, plumber."

"Are you talking about me?" Luigi said. Mario and Sonic both turned to him. "Well, we're both plumbers. So, when you say plumber, it-a gets kinda-"

Yoshi interrupted Luigi loudly. Even with his tongue out, it was pretty clear he was saying, "Can we just go already!?"

"Good luck, Mario," Sonic wished. He took off like a bullet down the hole, dragging Yoshi, Luigi and Stuffwell with him.

"You and me both." Mario said. He turned back to the tower and took a deep breath. He exhaled then charged straight toward it. As he ran, it began to slope slightly downwards, just enough for Mario to manage running on it towards the princess. Mario panic as he began to slow down. He felt the push of gravity dragging him back to the hull, but Mario doubled his efforts, focusing solely on saving Peach, and managed to speed up just enough for him to keep running.

Debris fell off the tower and hurtled towards our crimson champion, but Mario only saw an opportunity. He leapt off the tower and landed on the nearest bit of debris. He continued doing this, making his way up until no more tower pieces were falling. He jumped back onto the tower, using his momentum to keep himself going. His arms pumping at his sides, he pushed himself further and further until finally...

"Mario!"

"Peach! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. But what's happening to the ship?"

"There's no time to explain. Just hang on." Mario quickly got to work untying her. He gently let her down and checked to see she wasn't hurt."The others are coming on the Sky Pop. They should be here any second. All we have to do it wa-AAIITT!"

All of a sudden, the tower began leaning to the side. Mario and Peach slid on the floor until they both landed on the wall. They peered out of the nearby window to see that the tower has breaking off the rest of the ship.

"Mario!" Peach cried. Mario turned to see her terrified expression. "What are we going to do?" Before Mario could answer, the tower had completely separated from the Doomship. It flipped upside down; Mario and Peach held on to the window's frame for dear life. The both of them screamed as the tower hurtled towards the ocean.

* * *

Mario and Peach weren't the only ones screaming. Luigi, Yoshi and Stuffwell weren't used to the blazing speeds Sonic was known for. And since they were on a literal sinking ships, they didn't have the luxury of taking in the sights. But considering that the sights were grey walls and falling debris, it was most likely for the best. The same couldn't be said for the times the three of them crashed into the wall, ceiling or floor every time Sonic jumped or turned around.

"Sorry for the bumpy ride everybody," Sonic told them. Yoshi screamed in response as Luigi clung to him for dear life; his eyes shut, begging for this to be over as Stuffwell sat sandwiched between them wishing that the Professor built him with hands. "It won't be long now; I can see the Sky Pop just up ahead!"

And just a few seconds later, Sonic stopped right behind the Sky Pop. The others, still screaming, flew right past Sonic and the plane and just kept on going, dragging Sonic with them as he crashed into the tail of the plane. With Sonic wrapped around it, Yoshi, Luigi and Stuffwell were pulled back and crashed into their seats, Luigi in the pilot's seat and Yoshi and Stuffwell in the backseat. Sonic dropped to the floor and untied Yoshi's tongue. He wiped his hands on the plane and checked to see how everyone was doing.

"Everyone alright?" Sonic asked. Everyone just gave dazed moans in response. Sonic jumped onto the plane's wing and walked towards Luigi. "Hey Luigi. You think you'll be able to pilot this thing?"

Instead of giving an answer, Luigi bent over the other side of his seat and threw up.

"Why are _you_ sick?" Yoshi complained. "You're not the one with hedgehog fur all over your tongue." Yoshi spat out some blue fur out of his mouth and tried to wipe the rest off his tongue. Luigi wiped his mouth with his sleeve, it'll be a while before he'd be able to pilot the Sky Pop.

Or it would've been if the corridor they were in hadn't start to shake violently. Pieces of the ceiling fell down around them while the floor behind them began to crumble and collapse. Suddenly, Luigi's nausea had completely disappeared and he kept turning the key over and over again trying to get the plane to work. Luigi let out a quick laugh as the plane's engine roared to life. He stepped on the gas hard as he could and the plane charged straight ahead at the large hole it formed in the ship during its entrance.

Behind them, the floor kept giving way, and everyone had to brace for falling debris from above. "Faster Luigi!" cried Yoshi.

"I'm a-going as fast as I can!" Luigi rebutted. He glared dead ahead, willing the plane to go faster so that they can get out of there. Almost to the light. So close now.

Almost.

Almost.

They made it!

The Sky Pop burst out of the whole with our heroes aboard. Yoshi, Luigi, and Sonic let out a celebratory cheer for their survival, but Stuffwell knew that now was not the time for celebrating just yet.

"Pardon me, Masters," Stuffwell said, interrupting their cheering, "but Master Mario and Princess Peach are still waiting for us."

"You're right," Sonic said. "Step on it Luigi!" Luigi slammed on the gas and turned around to pick up his brother and the princess. Our heroes jaws dropped in collective horror as they witnessed the tower break off and drop straight towards the ocean.

Luigi flew straight towards the collapsing structure, Sonic had to hold on to the wing as the only thought on Luigi's mind was saving his brother's life. Luigi made it to the port of the ship and dove straight down. His eyes narrowed, he was focused on making it at all costs. But no matter how hard he pressed on the gas, it looked like he couldn't make it fast enough. He grew closer to the tower but not as fast as the tower grew closer to the ocean.

Luigi was creeping along slowly, the deep blue down below drawing nearer and nearer towards them. Luigi had finally made it to the tower's middle, Sonic and the others were growing concerned as Luigi didn't seem to notice that they were hurtling towards the ocean.

Luigi was almost to the window. He could just barely peek inside the room. But just as he was going to see how his brother and the princess was, Yoshi's tongue wrapped around the lever and pulled it hard, forcing the Sky Pop to go up. Just as the tower collided straight into the ocean, breaking into dozens of pieces as it did.

"What did you do?!" Luigi yelled at Yoshi.

"You were going to crash us into the sea!" Yoshi yelled back. Luigi turned and now realized that the ocean was just a few yards beneath them. If Yoshi hadn't pulled them up when he did, they would've been done for. None of this got through to Luigi and he was still furious.

"I was this close to saving Mario and Peach! _This_ _close_!"

"Easy Luigi," Sonic spoke calmly. "Your brother and the princess are strong. I'm sure they're alright. After everything you guys have been through, it'll take way more than a dip at the ocean to take them out."

"Would something like that do, Master Sonic?" Stuffwell asked.

Everyone looked up to see the Omega Doomship hurtling right over them. Luigi screamed and piloted everyone out of the sinking ship's path. The Doomship hit the ocean with a loud crash. The splash it made was the size of tidal waves, the heroes barely avoided getting soaked. They stared at the scene before them in shock as the Doomship sank into the abyss below. And when it dropped below the surface, absolutely nothing was left but the endless blue before them.

"Mario..." Luigi said weakly.

"What...What did I do?" Yoshi cried.

Luigi covered his face with his hands and wept open, Yoshi flopped into his seat, the guilt crushing him, and Sonic clenched his fists, all too familiar with the pain of losing a good friend.

Everyone sat there in the sky, grieving the loss of the Mushroom Kingdom's greatest hero and its kindest princess. Luigi already missed him, so much so he could still hear his voice.

"Hey! Woo-hoo!"

Everyone else could hear it too, and that made them realize that the voice wasn't coming from in their heads as it was above them. Way above them. Everyone looked up to see a tiny pink dot high in the sky.

"I-is it-"

Luigi didn't even give Yoshi enough time to finish that question. He was already flying straight up towards it. Once again, Sonic was holding on for dear life, but he didn't mind if it meant he didn't have to lose someone else. As they got closer, they could make out the actual shape of the dot, and doing so filled Luigi's eyes with tears of joy.

Up in the clouds were Mario and Peach, the brave hero safely nestled in the princess' arm as she kept them from falling with her magic parasol.

"Mario!" Luigi cheered. Mario and Peach landed on the wing opposite of Sonic. Yoshi stepped into the pilot seat to take over while Luigi gave his brother a hug. Stuffwell sniffed at this touching reunion since it was the closest thing he could do to cry and Sonic, while pleased that two of his new friends were safe, couldn't help but wonder how this could be.

"I gotta ask," the hedgehog started, "how did you two make it out of that?"

"With this!" Peach answered and showed off her parasol.

"Isn't that the umbrella Toadsworth asked you to deliver, Mario?"

"Yep!" Mario said. "I 1-almost forgot that Peach's parasol was magic."

"Magic? Is that why you two were floating like that?"

"Mm-hmm," Peach replied, "I simply have to thank Toadsworth for being so thoughtful."

"I'll say," Mario agreed. He stepped out of Luigi's embrace and led the princess to the backseat. "But first, let's-a go home. Yoshi?"

"Way ahead of you, Mario," he said happily. Yoshi stepped on the gas, grateful that this particularly stressful adventure was over. "Toadsworth said there's gonna be a huge party when we get back, princess. I can't wait to actually eat something today."

"You now we can't stay for long, right? As soon as we drop off Peach, we'll have to go back to finding Shadow and the last two Chaos Emeralds."

"Ugh!" Yoshi groaned. "But we can stay for a little bit right? I mean, two life-threatening adventures in one day surely calls for a snack break, doesn't it?"

"Well, I guess resting for ten minutes could do us some good."

"Whoo-hoo! I am gonna eat till I pop!"

A beeping noise came from the backseat. The princess bent over to pick up the source.

"Stuffwell!" She exclaimed. "Sorry I didn't see you there."

"It's quite alright, Princess Peach," he insisted. "But I'm afraid Master Yoshi's dinner plans will have to be put on hold."

"Aw, man!" Yoshi cried.

"I'm receiving an urgent message from an unknown caller!" Stuffwell opened himself up to show a TV screen inside himself. At first, there was just static, but then the image grew clearer and our party could hear noise from the other side. It sounded like the noises an ape would make.

The image cleared until a gorilla wearing a polka-dotted bandana on his head and a pair of sunglasses appeared on screen, chattering away about something or another as our heroes unfortunately could not understand him.

"Um, excuse me," Princess Peach said. "I'm afraid we do not understand you. Could you talk to us some other way?"

The gorilla looked just as confused by the princess' words as everyone else was by his. An expression of realization crossed his face and he brought up what could only be described as a speaker made out of bamboo and leaves attached to some sort of microphone. The gorilla flipped a switch on the speaker and spoke into the microphone. A stereotypical surfer voice came out of the speaker as he talked.

"Testing. Testing. Like, is this thing working? Can you bros understand me?"

"Yes,we can understand you perfectly now!"

"Awesome!"

"Right," Sonic said. "Now that that's out of the way, do ya mind explaining why you're calling us?"

"We don't even know your name," Mario pointed out.

"Oh man!" The gorilla exclaimed, embarrassed, "My bad, dudes. Let me start over." He cleared his throat and started his introduction. "My name is Funky Kong and we need help bad, dude. Me and the other Kongs were chilling here at our home, Kong Island. Then, like, some crazy glowing rock fell out of the sky and everything went bananas!" At the mention of bananas, Funky Kong's stomach growled and he had to pat his belly to ease the hunger pangs. "Hang in there, little dude. We'll get some food in ya."

"I know your pain all too well," Yoshi sympathized.

"Sounds to me like we know where the next Chaos Emerald is," Sonic mentioned.

"Chaos Emerald?" Funky said, confused. "I don't know what that is and I don't care. If you wanna get it outta here it's all yours. Your friend was here talking about it. He's the one who told me about you guys."

"Our friend?" Sonic said. "Are you talking about Shadow?"

"He didn't tell us his name. But he kinda looks like you except all black and mean and stuff."

"Yep, that's Shadow alright." Yoshi said.

"Start at the beginning," Mario insisted. "Tell us everything that's happened."

"Well, the rest of you dudes better sit down," Funky suggested. "Cause it's gonna be a long one."

* * *

Mecha Mario had the Sky Pop in its sights. All it had to do was fire one missile and Sonic and Mario and all their friends would be history.

"No," Mecha Mario said. But he didn't say it with his cold, mechanical voice. What came out was the guttural growl of Dr. Eggman. "If I'm going to destroy that irritating blue rat once and for all, I want him to know who did it. Congratulations, Sonic. You and your pesky friends get to live. For now. Currently, I have bigger fish to fry." He reached into his chest and pulled out the source of his last body's power, the green Chaos Emerald. "And I have everything I need to ensure that the glorious reign of the Eggman Empire will come to pass. See you soon, hedgehog."

Eggman turned around and blasted away to parts known only to him. And he was not alone. Under the ocean's surface, dozens of Basil-droids have survived the crash of the Omega Doomship and were currently clawing it to pieces, breaking out of the ship as it sank and swimming towards their master to fulfill his next dark ambition. Except for one, sent by Eggman specifically to follow their heroes wherever they go. For what purpose? One could only imagine

* * *

 _ **Our champions have endured battle after battle, facing near-certain death every step of the way. But not only have they triumphed, once again Mario and his allies were able to save Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser.**_

 _ **But just as the darkest times seemed to be behind them, a stranger calls with a cry for help, as well as the whereabouts of the next Chaos Emerald and their friend Shadow the Hedgehog.**_

 _ **What has happened to Kong Island?**_

 _ **What has happened to Shadow?**_

 _ **And what dastardly plan is Eggman hatching now?**_

 _ **Tune in to learn more at the next blood-pumping episode of Super Mario Bros. Z!**_

* * *

 _I decided to try something new and put in little end credits music for each episode. Just type in the song at the bottom to Youtube and enjoy._

* * *

End Credits Song: E.G.G.M.A.N by Paul Shortino


	30. The Kong-Kremlng Conflict Part-1

Okay, so me and all the other Kongs were chillin' here at Kong Village. I was waxing my surfboard, Donkey was watching the Banana hoard, Diddy was hanging with his girlfriend Dixie, Chunky was out playing with his baby bro Kiddy and his cousin Tiny, Candy was teaching Lanky how to dance, and Cranky was watching the Swanky Kong Show.

Everything was pretty much groovy but then this weird meteor came out of nowhere. We didn't notice it at first because it was the same color as the sky but when it crashed, it crashed hard dude. So I pulled out the old telescope to find out where it landed and it turns out it crashed on Crocodile Isle.

Now, the Kremlings who live there are seriously bogus. They keep trying to take over the place, just because that psycho King K. Rool tells them to. At first, I didn't think it was a big deal. Whatever that meteor was, it was their problem, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

The next day, K. Rool and his toadies stormed the island and attacked everything. They had weapons I've never seen before bro, with this crazy energy that wiped the floor with us.

K. Rool kidnapped every Kong that kicked his big scaly butt over the years, he even took some of our little animal buddies. The rest of us managed to go into hiding and we've been trying to save everybody since, but the Kremlings took over the whole island and keep trying to steal our food. They already looted the banana hoard and we had to put all our resources into making sure we didn't starve.

This went on for a couple weeks but then we heard an explosion over at the beach. Me and Candy went to check it out and saw this hedgehog guy battling this killer robot. They were both pulling out these crazy moves, me and Candy had to stay hidden cause we couldn't tell if they'd come after us.

Then the hedgehog guy fell and the robot was gonna waste him only for some Kremlings to come over and zap him with their new weapons. The metal dude had already took some major damage so he flew when those Kremling guards tried to take the other guy, Candy knocked them out with Donkey's coconut cannon, and we managed to bag the little guy and take him home.

We were positive that he was our best shot at beating and saving our fellow Kongs.

* * *

"And then he woke up, turned out be a jerk and told us about you guys." Funky Kong had finished his story. Our group immediately sympathized with the Kong's plight, Peach seemed on the verge of tears.

"That's so horrible," she told them.

"We promise to get there as soon as we can," Luigi assured. "Right Mario?"

"Mm-hmm," Mario agreed, "But first, we need to take the Princess home to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"And get some food!" Yoshi added. Hearing that made Funky's stomach growl again. "Sorry."

"It's okay, dude," Funky said. "And hey, I get it. If there's one thing every Kong knows, is that getting kidnapped always calls for some R&R. Just get over here ASAP, and we're good, deal?"

"Deal," Sonic said. "Just one more thing. How's Shadow doing?"

"He's resting in the infirmary. We tried convincing him to help us, but he kept going on about 'I only care about the Emerald' and 'if you want help, talk to these losers.' His words not mine."

Sonic was disappointed but not surprised that Shadow was unwilling to help the Kongs. "Sorry about that. He's going through some stuff right now."

"We''ll be there shortly," Mario promised him.

* * *

"Thanks guys," Funky said. "We need all the help we can get. See ya!" Funky turned off the screen and left his shop. He looked up to see the tall dark cave ceiling the resistance camp was hiding under. He walked over to the infirmary where he saw Candy Kong standing watch over Shadow lying on a bed with his arms crossed over the translator dangling over his neck.

"How'd it go?" Candy asked him.

"They said they'll be here as soon as they drop off some princess," Funky answered. "How's he doing?"

"He's about as cheery as usual," Candy told him. "Hasn't changed his mind if you're wondering."

"I told you," Shadow said, "your little feud is not my concern. Right now, there's a bigger crisis going on that depends on me getting that Emerald. Now let me out of this bed!"

"We're not holding you here. You're welcome to get up and walk out."

"Very well." Shadow pulled off the sheets and walked off the bed. After a few steps, his legs buckled underneath him and he fell to his knees. Candy giggled over Shadow's weakness despite all his tough talk. Shadow growled in annoyance at her direction.

"Here, let me h-"

"I don't need your help!" Shadow managed to stand up and walk on his own two feet again. He had made it to the door without falling, but it was not as easy as it should've been. Unleashing his full power on Mecha Sonic had drained him, and he still needed time to get back to normal. But he wasn't going to accept anyone's charity. He didn't need it and he'd let them know it.

Shadow heard slow-clapping and saw Candy walk up to him. "Wow. You sure showed me. And since you're tough enough to walk all by yourself, how about a tour of the place?"

"I don't need a-"

"No, no, I insist." Candy wrapped an arm around Shadow and pulled him close. Shadow struggled only to find that he couldn't get out of her insane grip. "Hey, Funky! I'm gonna show Shadow the place, do you mind checking on Rambi and Squitter?"

"Sure thing!" Funky answered.

"Thanks!"

Candy dragged Shadow (somewhat literally) around the base. She told them about how they built it underneath Kong mountain shortly after the Kremlings invaded. It has a pen for the animals, a lake for Enguarde the Swordfish and Glimmer the Angler Fish to swim around in, two labs, one for Funky and one for Cranky, a barracks for the Kongs and a storage space for their food.

Finally, Shadow managed to pull out of Candy's grasp but it required more energy than he had hoped. Once again, he was back on his knees struggling to get up. Candy looked at Shadow and headed into the storage area. She came back with a banana in her hand and offered it to him. Shadow looked up to her with a stoic stare.

"Here," she said. "If you wanna stand up, you'll need to have some energy back." Shadow looked into the storage area. He saw about a dozen bananas tops lying on the floor. Barely enough to feed three normal people in a day, let alone three huge gorillas. "Is this another one of your 'I don't need help things'? Cause I got to tell ya, it's starting to get old."

Shadow pushed the banana away from him and managed to pull himself up again. "I'm not pitiful enough that I need to take food from starving rebels. Besides, I hate bananas."

"I'm guessing you hate a lot of things, don't you?"

"I don't hate everything. I merely like nothing."

Candy started laughing, both at what Shadow said and the seriousness he said it with. "Maybe you're not so bad after all, little hedgehog."

"Hmph." Candy chucked the banana back into the storage shed. The two of them heard the flapping of wings and turned to see Squawks flying towards them.

"Squawk!" He squawked. "Cranky says he wants to see you immediately! He has something to show you."

"You can tell that old geezer that I'm not interested," Shadow chided. "I have a mission of my own and I've wasted enough time here already!" Shadow turned around and headed off for the exit. Squawks looked at Candy, who simply gestured her head over to the black hedgehog. Squawks promptly flew towards him, picked him up by his shoulders and flew him back to Cranky's lab, protesting all the way until the door slammed behind him. "What is the meaning of this? Let me go now or I will make you pay!"

"Say hi to Cranky for me!" Candy shouted. "Whoo, putting those two in the same room should be interesting."

* * *

Squawks dropped the arguing hedgehog right in front of Cranky's counter. Shadow got up to see a hunched over gorilla in a lab coat mixing chemicals together.

"Glad to see you've decided to visit," Cranky snarked. He finished the concoction he was working on and put it in front of Shadow. "Here, drink this."

"Why the hell would I?" Shadow asked. Cranky whacked him in the head with a cane. "Ow! What the hell are you-"

"Funky told me about the fight between you and that robot. He said you were moving so fast he could hardly see you. But now, an old man like me could smack you over the head with my walking stick and there's nothing you could do about it." To illustrate his point, Cranky hit Shadow over the head again, and even though he tried to react this time, it couldn't succeed.

"What are you getting at?" Shadow said while rubbing where the cane hit.

"You wanna prove that you're the toughest guy out there, right? That you don't need anyone's help? Well, I figured the best way to do that would be give you this medicine. Otherwise-" Cranky hit him a third time and Shadow scowled at him. He looked down at the mixture before him in suspicion. "If I wanted ya dead, I would've done it while you were sleeping. Now, drink it!" Shadow looked down at the vial one last time and brought it to his lips. He chugged the concoction down, getting it about halfway empty before he started gagging and spitting it out. "Oh, quit complaining. You know the old saying 'the worse the taste the better the medicine."

Once Shadow was done gagging, Cranky moved to hit him again. But this time, Shadow grabbed the cane and broke it into two pieces with his bare hand, all while glaring angrily into Cranky's eyes. "Told ya it would help," the old gorilla told him. Cranky reached under the counter and pulled out another cane to lean on.

"Are we done here?" Shadow asked.

"Not quite. Now is the matter of payment."

"Payment?"

"I'm not asking for you to give me anything. I just need you to run an errand for me."

"Hang on, old man. I never asked for your medicine, so I don't owe you anything." Shadow turned around and walked towards the door. "I have a serious matter to attend to and I suggest you stay out of my way."

"Well, what a coincidence. Because getting back to that serious matter was the errand I was going to ask you."

Shadow stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face him. "What?"

"I know you don't care about us. All you care about is getting that, what did you call it again? 'Chaos Emerald'? Kind of a stupid name isn't it? I mean, it's not even green! Anyway, ever since it landed on K. Rool's shores, it's done nothing but give us a massive headache. You want to take it away from here, we want it out of K. Rool's hands. This way we both get what we want. Sure, it won't rescue our fellow Kongs, but it'll still be a massive blow to that no-good overstuffed blowhard calling himself a king." Cranky pulled open a drawer in his desk and began digging around, looking for something. Shadow walked over to get a better look. Eventually, Cranky pulled out a photograph of a six story building structured to look like a medieval tower. "This is Krem Co. Squawks scouted the place earlier and found it to be the most likely location of the Chaos Emerald. I recommend checking the top floor first. That's the CEO's office. You get in, grab the Emerald, get out and we never see each other again, deal?"

Cranky stuck out his hand. Shadow grabbed it and shook hard once. "Deal." Shadow let go and made his way towards the exit.

"Oh, by the way!" Cranky shouted. "I know you would've figured it our by yourself. I just figured this would save us some time." Shadow rolled his eyes at the gorilla's snark and finally left the lab.

* * *

After dumping the translator and sneaking aboard one of the Kremling's ships, Shadow arrived at Crocodile Isle. It was anything but a lovely place, the Kremling home habitat was infected with thick fog and barren trees, surrounded by a fetid swamp despite being in the middle of the ocean. Standing on top of the tallest hill in this wretched excuse of an ecosystem was a tall building, high enough to nearly reach the clouds. At the top of this structure was a large stone head shaped like a deranged crocodile. A literal monument to the ego of the land's mad ruler, King K. Rool.

Shadow didn't care about any of that. All he cared about was finding Krem Co. and getting the sixth Chaos Emerald. Luckily, finding Krem Co. was not hard to find as the island itself was so small, it took Shadow about twenty minutes to find it. Getting _into_ Krem Co. was another story. The bottom floor was surrounded at all sides by armed guards and there were searchlights scanning all around the area surrounding the tower and the walls of the building itself. Normally, Shadow wouldn't even bother being stealthy and would just beat up everybody that got in his way. But even though the medicine was giving him his strength back, he still didn't feel like his normal self, and he was certain there'd be more guards inside.

Shadow heard noise up above him. He looked up to see a silhouette flying high over his head. Slowly, Shadow bent down to pick up a small rock. He hurled it at his avian stalker as hard as he could and it hit his target dead on. The dark silhouette fell out of the sky and landed in Shadow's open palm, which he promptly closed so that it could not escape. Shadow brought the stalker to his eyes and saw that it was Squawks the parrot from Kong base.

"What are you doing here?" Shadow whispered angrily. He let Squawks out of his grip and saw that he was wearing a smaller version of the translator the Kong's gave Shadow.

After catching his breath, Squawks answered him through the filtered voice of the device. "Squawk! Cranky told me to follow you. He said you'll need me for this."

"I thought I made it very clear to you people that I don't need your help."

"Come on. It'll be easy! I'll just-"

"Zip it! Before I start considering if parrot tastes better fried or grilled."

This very clear threat convinced Squawks to buzz off. He took to the skies, leaving Shadow all alone once more. Shadow turned his attention back to Krem Co. He performed a perimeter check around the area, moving swiftly yet silently to avoid and wandering eyes. He found out that there was only one entrance into Krem Co. The side containing the front entrance was guarded by three Kremlings. Two Kremlings stood watch at the sides next to it, and the side opposite of the door had only one guard. On top of that, there were no searchlights behind the building. The Kremlings probably thought to focus their security around the entrance of the building and not the building itself. Shadow scoffed at their lack of forethought before making his way back to the rear side of Krem Co.

Shadow decided now was a perfect opportunity to see if these Kremlings were as stupid as they looked. He picked up relatively large rock and threw it over to the side. The sound it made drawed the attention of every Kremling in the area.

"What was that?"

"Someone shine a light on it!"

"I don't see nothin'!"

"Keep searching! We can't take any chances or K. Rool will make us into handbags and sell us online!"

The vast majority of the building's security was focused on that one spot. Including the rear guard. It would appear that Shadow's suspicions of them were correct.

"Idiots."

Wasting no time, Shadow charged forward at the guard. In his peripherals, the Kremling saw Shadow coming right at him but it was already too late. Shadow punched him in his ample gut. And when the guard bent over, Shadow grabbed his mouth and closed it shut, ensuring he couldn't cry out. He uppercutted him in the jaw, breaking some of his teeth and leaving him in a daze. Then he lifted himself up, still gripping to the guards snout, and brought his heel down upon his head. The Kremling's helmet cracked down the middle and fell of his scalp, right before the soldier fell on his stomach, eyes closed, completely unconscious.

"Eh, false alarm. Everyone back to what you were doin'!" The rest of the security returned to their posts and Shadow leapt up to the building, digging his fingers into whatever crevice he could find to pull himself up. Luckily, there were large cracks all over the exterior and Shadow had no difficulty finding foot and hand-holds. Whoever was in charge of maintenance here should definitely be fired.

Shadow climbed up as quietly as he could, he was about halfway up the tower now. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to keep chunks of Krem Co. from falling off as he climbed. One of these chunks landed on the guard Shadow had just beaten as he woke up. When the falling piece collided with his bare head, the officer let out a quick yelp of pain before passing out again.

Though it was short, it was loud enough to draw the attention of everyone around it. Two searchlights scanned the back area of the building and noticed their fallen comrade.

"Kosha!" One of the guards shouted.

"Somebody check the back wall! Don't let anyone in!"

"Crap..." Shadow muttered under his breath. He noticed a segment of the tower cut out to make room for a window. Shadow climbed over and pressed his back against it, just before the searchlights nearly spotted him.

"There's nothing there!"

"Maybe he's just sleepin'?"

Shadow let out a breath before looking down to see one of the guards pointing a gun at him.

"Krumple, what are you doing?"

"I ain't taking any chances!" Krumple began firing blindly at the back of the building. He wasn't aiming at Shadow, he was just blasting the building from the bottom up. Shadow could immediately tell from the Cyan energy blasts from his gun that these weapons were charged by Chaos Energy. So when they hit, they didn't leave behind holes like bullets did, they exploded on impact, and they were getting closer to tearing Shadow apart.

Shadow figueredhe'd have to go in the window and climb up inside. But when he peeked through, he saw dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes wandering the halls. Through their glow, Shadow could tell that there were hundreds of mechanical Kremlings guarding the floor. Shadow was going to have better luck just taking the outside security on. He was getting ready to jump, when one of the other Kremlings grabbed the firing officer's gun, pulled it out of his hands and hit him over the head with it.

"Are you trying to destroy Krem Co.?" This guard asked with derision. "You're going to get us fired. Out of a cannon! The searchlight guys said there's no one there, so quit playing Rambo and get back to work!"

"Fine," Krumple groaned. "But I'm keeping watch here. Unlike Kosha, nobody's gonna get the drop on me!"

"Whatever. Just remember to blast the enemy and not royal property!" The other officer went back to this post and Krumple turned around to stand watch. Shadow was a tad disappointed that he didn't have to take these idiots on, but he wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth. He grabbed the stone walls to continue his trek when the ground beneath him began to cave. He looked down to see that all the energy blasts have greatly weakened the rear wall, and it was about to collapse in on itself.

Shadow jumped as high as he could, right before the wall fell apart. He dug his fingers into it and pushed himself up, trying to get to the top before the building fell on top of him. The cracks in the tower seemed to be catching him as more of Krem Co. fell apart. As he climbed, Shadow felt less support beneath his feet until eventually, all he could feel his air. Realizing he was out of time, he put all his strength into his arms and threw himself as hard as he could to the top floor. Shadow landed on his feet and panted heavily. He turned and looked down to see the crumbling rear of the building. The cracks had stopped just before the sixth floor and the bricks had fallen on top of Krumple and Kosha.

"We're okay!" Krumple assured everybody.

Now that that was over, Shadow could get back to finding that Chaos Emerald. He jumped at the sound of slow clapping right behind him and turned to see Squawks lying on a skylight with an unimpressed look on his face.

"Well," the translator spoke for him in a scratchy voice, "that. Went. Marvelously. No really, I see now that your plan was x1000 better than anything I could come up with. I was just going to do something stupid like you fly you over here without raising suspicion, but no. No, I see now that my plan didn't have nearly enough getting shot at. Truly, with such a brilliant mind as yours, I could see why Cranky thought you were perfect for- SQUAWK!" Shadow picked Squawks off of the ground and squeezed tightly. He stared the parrot dead in the eye as it gasped for air. "Squawk...Sorry. Cranky...kinda rubs off on ya...Can you let me go now...?" When the feathers on Squawk's face turned purple, Shadow decided he'd learned his lesson. He dropped Squawks and he gasped for air, turning green again before standing back up. "If it's any consolation, I've taken the liberty of opening the window while you were...busy." Squawks flew to the center of the skylight and pushed it open. "After you." Without saying anything, Shadow jumped down and examined his surroundings. Everything in the office was solid gold. The walls, the floor, the desk, the filing cabinets, the pens. There was even a bathroom in there that had a solid gold toilet. It was so exceedingly extravagant that even under the pale moonlight, it hurt Shadow's eyes.

Shadow began to concentrate on pinpointing the Emerald's location. But a certain irritating parrot made it very difficult. "You're welcome, by the way."

"I thought I made it clear I work alone," Shadow told him. He went over to the desk, opening each drawer for the Emerald or some sort of clue to its whereabouts.

"Squawk! Hey this isn't a picnic for me either, pal. The only reason I'm here is because Cranky told me to make sure you lived." Squawks flew over to the filing cabinets and searched one by one. "You're not the only one has stakes in this."

"You have no idea what I'm up against. This little squabble going on between you and these idiots mean nothing compared to what'll happen to this world if I don't get that Emerald."

"Even so, you can't go around treating people like dirt when they don't immediately give you what you want. I get you have this 'lone wolf' thing going on but you don't want to be alone all the time, do you?"

"It's better this way."

"For who?"

"For me. Now shut it." After finding nothing in the desk, Shadow slammed the last door shut and went to the wall opposite of Squawks to dig through the filing cabinets there.

Squawks was still searching through his cabinet but felt the need to get one more word in. "We're trying to save the world too." Shadow looked back with a raised eyebrow. "Well, not _the_ world, but _our_ world."

"What the hell does that mea-"

"I GOT IT!"

Shadow's eyes were wide with shock. "You found the Chaos Emerald?"

"Huh? Oh, uh no. I found a... You know what, never mind let's just keep looking."

Shadow marched over to Squawks, fists by his sides and a dangerous look in his eyes. "If you think I'm going to ignore that, you're stupider than those Kremlings. Now what did you find?" Before he could answer, the room flashed red and a loud alarm noise could be heard reverberating around the room.

"It's the alarm!" Squawks panicked. Near instantly, metal shutters blocked off the door and shut the skylight above them. The back wall moved upwards to reveal a large black TV screen. The screen flickered with light to reveal a pot-bellied Kremling with a bulging eye and a crown, stroking a little alligator like a cat. "Squawk! It's King K. Rool!"

"Why is he dressed like that?" Shadow asked. Typically, one would imagine a king to look dignified. King K. Rool did not. He was being squeezed by an ill-fitting suit with a red tie long enough to dangle between his knees. Underneath his crown appeared to be some sort of blonde weasel lying atop of his head. The lair he was in was just as ostentatiously gold and shiny as the office.

"Congratulations losers," he smirked. Squawks translator worked even through the screen, so Shadow heard what he said through an obnoxious, blaring whine. "You've managed to break into the office of President K. Rump. C.E.O of Crocodile Isle and the smartest, most perfect man in the world. Now you-" K. Rump stopped his monologue after noticing Shadow for the first time. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog. And you have precisely five seconds to tell me where in this damn place the Chaos Emerald is before I hunt you down and make you into a wallet."

"Chaos Emerald? Ah! You must mean my Supremacy Stone."

"I don't care what you call it. It's a Chaos Emerald and it belongs to me! Now hand it over!"

"Here's what I'll do. Just because I'm a nice guy, I'll show you where the Supremacy Stone is."

"Wait, really?" Squawks chimed in. He could not believe that K. Rool would just hand it over like that.

"But first," K. Rump bent over and lifted a stack of papers that was about two and a half feet tall, "you will have to listen to me read my autobiography and give me feedback when it's over."

"Oh you've got to be f-"

"Squawk! C'mon Shadow. Didn't you say the world was at stake? Going along with his craziness just this once won't kill ya."

 _"Tch._ Fine."

"Excellent," K. Rump said enthusiastically. "By the way, I won't accept any criticism aside from 'great', 'tremendous', or 'tremendously great.' Let's get started." The C.E.O of Krem Co. picked up the first page of the pile and brought it up to his face.

"The Art of Being a Brilliant Genius, an Unstoppable Chick Magnet, Having the Body of a Greek God, and all around being the Greatest Man to have Ever Lived by President K. Rump. C.E.O of Crocodile Isle and the smartest, most perfect man in the world. Chapter One. The second I hatched from my egg, I knew I was destined for greatness. My dad, Fred Rool, in a test to see which one of his children deserved to reign over all Kremlings, stuffed us all up in a burlap sack, tied it to a stork, and sent that stork to fly as far as it could and never come back in exchange for not being eaten. That stork flew away almost immediately, carrying us off to parts unknown. Obviously, my dad did this knowing that the first Kremling that managed to make his way back would deserve to be the next king. Destiny knew that it had to be me, for in that burlap sack laid a tiny, little hole. As the stork flew off it became a bigger hole, just big enough for one egg to slip through, leaving all its brothers and sisters behind. That egg slid down a palm tree and landed in the swamp, where a swamp fish swallowed it whole before being grabbed and carried away by a vulture to the top of Kremling Kastle. The fish coughed up this little egg and it bounced out of the nest, rolled down the roof and plummeted straight into the hands of an eager King Fred. All the excitement the little egg had gone through got it to hatch faster than any egg ever, and the Kremling born there was so beautiful, it made the almighty King cry for the first time in his life, for the universe had heard his pleas and have given him the perfect heir. And that little heir, was none other than me. At first, my dad wanted to do another test, but my dear sweetheart of a mother convinced him otherwise, believing that the people might get the wrong idea about him just because he sent fifty of his children to parts unknown with a strange bird. Not wanting to upset the masses further to the point of revolution, he accepted that fate had given him the answers he needed and I was all he and this kingdom would ever want. You might be wondering how I could now all this when I was just an egg. Well it's easy, on top of being a Brilliant Genius, an Unstoppable Chick Magnet, Having the Body of a Greek God, and all around being the Greatest Man to have Ever Lived, I also have the world's greatest memory. It's so great, I can remember things before I was even born. I definitely didn't find out about this story on the night of my eighth birthday, when King Daddy came home sipping from his funny smelling coconut, waking me up at 3 AM to tell me all about this and how I was a fat, ugly disappointment that made him regret the day he met Queen Mommy. Nope, if King Dad ever woke me up in the middle of the night it was to give me hugs. He gave the best hugs people, believe me. No one gave better hugs or gave them as frequently as King Fred Rool. Except for me obviously, because as the smartest, most perfect man in the world, I have mastered hugs and am more than willing to show the ladies reading this just how good I am at hugs. Trust me, you'll never want to be hugged by anyone else ever again.

Chapter 2. On the day after I was born-" A bolt of brilliant energy shot out and blown the TV to kingdom come. Though it might seem unnecessary to tell you, it was a Chaos Spear launched by a seething black hedgehog.

"Squawk! What did you do! He was going to show us that Chaos Emerald thing you wanted!"

"I'd rather burn this entire island to the ground and sift through the ashes for the Emerald than listen to another second of that fatso's posturing! The old man told me you were the one that scouted this place, if anyone would know where it is, it's you. Now, tell me where the Chaos Emerald is!"

Squawks turned away from Shadow awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head with his wing. "Yeah, about that..." Before he could finish, another buzzing noise ripped through the room, only what followed wasn't the alarm, it was a wave of electricity that passed through every surface in the room and into Shadow and Squawks. Dazed and on the floor, the two had no way of preparing themselves for what came next.

The floor opened up beneath the two and they fell into the darkness below, screaming as they were forced to watch the pitch black chasm consume them.


	31. The Kong-Kremlng Conflict Part-2

Shadow was woken up by something constantly pecking at his head. The first thing he saw, much to his dismay, was Squawks the Parrot taking up the entirety of his field of vision.

"Squawk! Thank goodness you're awake. Cranky would _not_ be happy if he thought I got you killed."

Shadow stood up and nursed a splitting headache, but apart from that he was nonetheless fine. "Where the hell are we?" The room they were in was massive. It was so high, the two of them couldn't see the ceiling. So wide, they couldn't see the walls. Though that may have just been because the room was also pitch black, save for one light high above them that only covered the five feet of the room they were currently using.

"I don't like the look of this. Why would K. Rool send dump us into a big empty room?"

"Hmph. Not that it matters, I'll just find a way out of here and beat the Chaos Emerald out of that idiot." Shadow started to walk into the darkness but Squawks wouldn't let him.

"Squawk! You can't just go out there! King K. Rool may be crazy but he wouldn't drop us here if we weren't in danger! And at the very least, we should see where we're going first."

"Fine. Chaos Spear!" Squawks just barely avoided being blasted by Shadow's Chaos Spear, which ended up illuminating the area around it as it soared before crashing into a wall and detonating. Given that the room was still pitch black, it's not hard to imagine that the Chaos Spear didn't leave a dent on it. But it did cause a loud cacophony of noises to erupt from the other side of the room. Shadow and Squawks jumped at the bizarre mix of hissing, screeching and other sounds. "What in the hell?"

Squawks didn't say anything. He just listened to the odd sounds until it was over. He then flew as fast as his wings could take him towards it. As he flew closer, more lights turned on, illuminating his path. Shadow chased after him, curious to what that bird was thinking after warning _him_ about rushing headlong without thinking. Eventually, the two of them stopped after seeing one of the lights turn on before they ran under it.

What it illuminated was a zoo's worth of animals locked up in chains. There was an elephant, an ostrich, a colorful bird with puffy cheeks, a rattlesnake, a frog, and a parrot like Squawks but purple.

The parrot was the first one to speak after the animals' eyes adjusted. "Squawks? Is that you?"

"Quawks! You're safe!" Squawks cheered. Squawks flew forward and wrapped his wings around the purple bird in a large hug. He then flew up to each and every one of the other animals, asking them how they were and assuring them everything's fine. It was at this moment that Shadow began to put the pieces together.

"You lied to me." Shadow said, his voice restraining the anger that comes with being deceived.

"Squawks, who is this?" the frog asked him.

"He's the new guy we found on the island. He's here to help us." Squawks got a good look at the hate in Shadow's eyes. He gulped as he realized the hedgehog was at a new level of angry. "I hope."

"You and that decrepit old monkey lied to me about the Chaos Emerald! You were just using me to-"

"To what?!" the ostrich interrupted, "to get off your butt and help us? If you need to be tricked into doing that then Squawks here ain't the problem, pal!"

"Easy, Expresso." Squawks calmed. "I'll talk to him myself. I owe him that much." Squawks turned to look at Shadow, he could practically see the frustration coming off him. But Squawks took a deep breath, looked Shadow in the eye and said, "This is what I meant by trying to save our world." Shadow's anger had died down a bit, but only because it had been replaced by confusion. "I know that you want that Emerald thingy because it's important or whatever, but these guys, the Kongs, all of us, we're important too. We're not just a bunch of dumb animals running around a jungle. We're family. And when your family is in danger it could feel like the whole world is falling apart, and you'd do anything to have them back. You talk a lot about how you're this edgy lone wolf that doesn't need anybody, but there has to have been someone in your life, something that you cared about enough to understand why we had to lie to you."

Shadow's mind started going back, back to when his world really ended.

 _"Remember, e_ _ven if you believe everyone in the world will be against you, know that I'll always remain by your side. Remember that. Remember me."_

It went back further to that day on the Space Colony ARK. To the promise he made with Maria.

 _"Bring hope to humanity."_

And it went back to what he said when the Kongs asked him to save their loved ones.

 _"Your little feud is not my concern."_

Suddenly, it became clear why Cranky and Squawks lied to him. It became even clearer that he was lying to himself. For as much of a loner he sells himself as, the truth was the people he had in his life made him who he was. And if he could bring them back, he'd have done the same thing in a heartbeat.

Everyone jumped when all the lights turned on row by row. On the other side of the room stood a simple wooden door. Right over it was a large red sign that read "exit."

"It's the way out!" Squawks cheered. Shadow wasn't listening, he was taking in the rest of the room now that he could see it. It was barren apart from the spot on the wall where his Chaos Spear left a scorch mark. Then he turned to the wall the animals were chained to and noticed something very odd. On this side of the room stood seven large doors of varying heights, each one standing about 20-30 feet tall. He looked down to see the animals' expressions were those of sadness and fear. Squawks noticed this too. "What's wrong guys?"

"They're here," the elephant said forlornly.

"Who's here?" Shadow asked.

"King K. Rool's newest pet project," Quawks answered. "Looks like that fat jerk has finally finished building them."

"Building what? Quit being cryptic and just tell us already!"

Practically on cue, a big red light flashed over all of the doors. Simultaneously, they began to open. Shadow and Squawks took a step back to see just what was happening, but neither one of them was prepared for what they saw when those doors opened.

Seven large robot apes lumbered into the room. They were all of varying species, consisting of five gorillas, a monkey, and an orangutan.

"It's the Kongs," Squawks realized.

"What?" Shadow asked.

"The missing Kongs! The ones we told you about! Donkey, Diddy, Dixie, Tiny, Chunky, Kiddy, and Lanky. Somehow, K. Rool used that rock to do this to them!"

The Robo-Kongs looked to their sides at the caged animals. Slowly, they moved to grab them, but Shadow had other plans.

"Chaos Arrow!" By using a lighter and faster version of his Chaos Spear attack, Shadow broke all their chains and caught the attention of the Robo-Kongs. Shadow looked at Squawks with a steely determination. "Get everyone to the exit! I'll hold them off!"

"Are you crazy?! You can't possibly hold them off on your own! Are you still trying to prove that you don't need u-"

"Shut up, you idiot! This isn't about me, it's about them! You say you'd do anything to save them? Prove it and get them out of here!"

Squawks didn't know what to say. He looked at his frightened friends and back to Shadow, and he knew that he was right. "Squawk! Everybody follow me to the exit!"

The animals didn't need to be told twice. As soon as he said that, everyone of them ran and flew and hopped as fast as they could to the other side of the door with Squawks leading the way. The Robo-Kongs tried to stop them but Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at the two closest ones and every single one of them turned to him.

"Come on, you damn dirty apes!" He shouted. "Let's see you come after something that can hit back!" The Robo-Kongs took Shadow up on his offer and leapt towards him. Shadow teleported just as their collective fists slammed down on the spot he once stood. All of them looked up when Shadow teleported on top of Donkey's head.

"Crap," Shadow muttered. He meant to teleported behind his head and blast it with a Chaos Spear. Even with all the time he took to recharge and Cranky's medicine, he still wasn't back at his peak. So teleportation was going to be unreliable at best.

Kiddy Kong jumped up to smash Shadow, but Shadow leapt out of the way just in time so Kiddy only pounded Donkey's head. While in the air, Shadow bombarded them with Chaos Spears, the explosions kicking up a cloud of smoke that swallowed all of them. But out of the cloud flew Diddy Kong, riding on a jetpack. He pulled out two large pistols and blasted at Shadow with Chaos Energy. The first shot hit, sending Shadow flying into the wall. When the other shots kept coming, Shadow knew he had no choice but to teleport.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow warped space and vanished before the blasts hit and reappeared right in front of Diddy. Shadow curled up into a ball and homed right in at Diddy's face. He then charged his fists with Chaos Energy and wailed on him. Blow after blow released a mini explosion into Diddy Kong's face but it didn't seem to leave a scratch on him. But Shadow was persistent and he was going to take him down. So persistent, that he didn't notice the extendable hand of Lanky Kong reaching up to grab him. Lanky slammed Shadow into the floor. He picked him up to slam him a second time, but when his arm reached the other side of the room, it didn't connect. Instead, Shadow had stopped the assault and stopped Lanky's hand from hitting the ground. Instead he grabbed and lifted Lanky up by his arm. Shadow spun around at high speeds, before throwing Lanky headfirst into the door he walked out of.

While dusting his hands, Shadow hardly had enough time to dodge a punch thrown by a shrunken Robo-Tiny. Tiny was still slightly taller taller than Shadow at this height, but she still couldn't keep up with the hedgehog's speed and power. Every punch, every kick, every twirl of her hair, Shadow had dodged, blocked, or countered masterfully. Certain he had this in the bag, Shadow was blindsided by what felt like a massive earthquake lifting him up into the air. He turned around to see the massive stature of Chunky Kong standing right behind him. As he went up he saw more of his humongous frame, until he soared past his face and stopped right above his head, where he saw Kiddy Kong riding on top of his shoulders. Kiddy got ready to squish Shadow like a bug with a massive clap. But Shadow teleported away and Kiddy crushed nothing but air.

Speaking of air, Shadow appeared high above their heads. He wanted to teleport so that he could punch Kiddy's face but he could work with this. Like a machine gun, Shadow's Chaos Arrows hit the back of Chunky's ankles quick and hard. Chunky fell on his knees and Kiddy fell off of him and landed on his head. Shadow homed in on Chunky and knocked him into the ground. As he landed, Shadow saw Kiddy get up and look at his surroundings. Shadow had a bad feeling about this. Those instincts turned out to be correct as Kiddy his mouth and started crying. His crying was so loud, that Shadow couldn't hear anything else, not even his own thoughts. All he could do was cover his ears.

Robo-Dixie took this opportunity to wrap Shadow around with her hair and throw him at the flying Diddy, who fired at Shadow with a single energy blast, pushing him straight into Donkey Kong's fist. Shadow slid down the fist and fell 30 feet from the air. After he landed, he tried to get up only to be crushed by Donkey's massive foot. When Donkey lifted his foot, Shadow saw all the Robo-Kongs surround him, staring down at his limp form.

Shadow could hardly even move, let alone fight back. He turned his head to see that the exit door was left wide open. Shadow smiled,knowing that if anything, his final act of compassion saved someone. He looked back up to see Donkey lifting his dist high over his head, getting ready to swing it down. Shadow closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable. Donkey's fist came down like a crashing airplane. But before it hit Shadow, Lanky Kong let out a high-pitched shriek of pain and jumped high into the air. All the other Kongs and Shadow stopped what they were doing to watch Lanky as he went up and landed on his back. Squawks flew in from behind Lanky and into the room.

"What?" Shadow asked. "What are you-"

"Squawk! You didn't really think we'd just go home, did you? Now!"

The unmistakable trumpet of an elephant roared overhead, as both Quawks and Parry dropped Ellie the Elephant on top of Chunky, knocking him down. Quawks and Parry then dive-bombed towards Diddy, pecking at him and taking all his attention. Rattly leapt into action, landing on the belly of Robo-Doxie and springing off of her and onto Tiny's face, making them both fall on their back. Kiddy got ready to clap again, but Winky the Frog wrapped his tongue around Kiddy's wrist and pulled it back. Expresso ran up to Shadow and Squawks lifted him up to his back.

"I told you to run."

"And I told you that Cranky would be mad if I got you killed. Leaving you to die against these things definitely count."

"You can't win."

"We don't have to. We just need to leave."

"Uh," Expresso expressed, "I think that's easier said than done."

Almost as soon as the animals joined the fray, they had their butts handed to them. Kiddy tossed Winky around like a rag-doll. Dixie and Tiny got up, grabbed Rattly and started stretching him tighter and tighter. Diddy took to the skies and opened fire on Quawks and Parry. And Chunky just picked Ellie up, tossed her aside and kept trying to stomp on her.

Squawks turned to Expresso. "Get him out of here, now! I'll focus on saving the o-AAHHH!" Donkey's hand came down and snatched them all up. He pulled them up to his face and squeezed tightly. None of them could get out of his grip and Shadow was too exhausted to use Chaos Control. The three of them couldn't breathe. THey were starting to black out but then...

BOOM!

A massive explosion came from above them. Everyone looked up to see a red blur hurtling right towards them. This red object pulled a massive mallet and started spinning at high speeds. The mallet collided with the top of Robo-Donkey's head, the vibrations shaking the entire machine, forcing it to let go of the three. Squawks managed to gently fly the other two to the ground. As Donkey Kong fell on his back, the red dot landed on his feet.

Shadow instantly recognized him, "Mario...?"

"Not bad for a deadbeat plumber, eh hedgehog?" Mario tipped his hat to him.

"A friend of yours?" Squawks asked Shadow.

"An ally," he answered.

"Ally?" said a voice up above him. This time, a blue blur came from the ceiling. It struck both Tiny and Dixie just in time to save Rattly before landing on the ground and rushing to get Ellie before she was squished, bringing her with him to Shadow and the others. "I think that's the nicest thing I ever heard you say, Shadow!"

"Sonic, I take it those green goofballs will be down here shortly."

"Nope, just one green goofball I'm afraid."

"Luigi 'volunteered' to stay on the plane," Mario explained. "He said he'll meet us back on Kong Island." Yoshi fell soon after, right on top of Diddy's head. Diddy began freaking out, flying all over the place trying to shake Yoshi off. It fired indiscriminately, with several of its blast landing just in front of Kiddy Kong, scaring him into letting go of Winky, who landed next to our heroes.

"Are you-a alright?" Mario asked him. The frog ribbit, which Squawks translated as simply "ow."

"Anyway," Sonic said, "we heard the explosions and figured that's where you were. We also figured you might need one of these." Sonic put Ellie down and reached behind him to pull out Stuffwell.

"Greetings, Master Shadow," the suitcase robot said. "My apologies for being rude, but you look dreadful."

"I hadn't noticed," Shadow snarked.

"Not to worry, though. One Chaos Emerald should be enough to fix you up." Stuffwell opened himself up to reveal five glowing Chaos Emeralds. Shadow quickly reached for one, but all of them were swept away by a strong wind. Everyone turned to see Tiny and Dixie Kong hovering in the air and spinning wildly. The two of them were moving so fast, they practically became tornadoes. The strong winds they generated began sucking all the hereos and the animal buddies in. All except Mario and Sonic, who hold on to Expresso and Shadow and Stuffwell and Squawks respectively. All of that came to an end however, when the two Kong-nados grew closer and merged into a single super tornado that even our heroes couldn't resist. All of them were pulled inside. They were all seperated as the tornado spun them around at high speeds, crashing into each other, moving so fast they couldn't see anything past the harsh winds.

Not even Lanky Kong, who had recovered and walked right in front of the Kong-nado. Lanky swelled up his body by sucking in the air around him, blowing up like a balloon and floating in place.

Shadow had to struggle to open his eyes against the intense winds. When he did, he saw the Chaos Emeralds floating several feel away from him. He had to take this chance. Shadow swam through the air, trying to get just a little bit closer to those Emeralds. Every inch was painful, but he knew that if he didn't do this they were done for.

Almost.

Almost.

Got it! Shadow grabbed the nearest Chaos Emerald and held on tight, feeling its energies healing him. Then at the top of his lungs, he used its power to stop time.

"Chaos Control!"

Everything around them froze. Shadow looked up and jumped back at the sight of a wave of fire being expelled from a deflating Lanky's mouth. Shaking it off, Shadow gripped the Emerald tighter and got everyone out of there.

"Chaos Control!" In a flash of light, all of our heroes and our animal friends disappeared. Lanky's fire breath hit the tornado but nothing else. Dixie and Tiny stopped their spinning as soon as they were sure their enemies were dead. But they weren't there. The Robo-Kongs looked around the room but couldn't find them. Their quarry had disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Back in the Kong's secret base, Candy was cleaning Donkey's coconut cannon when a flash of light came out of nowhere in the middle of the room and nearly blinded. When it was gone she looked back to see that Shadow and Squawks had returned along with all their missing animal buddies and some new friends.

Candy could not believe her eyes. Cranky turned out to be right all along. "Funky!" she shouted. "Funky! Cranky! You guys got to get over here! Right now!"

Candy ran up to the group and the other two Kongs weren't far behind. Candy and Funky went up to every one of the missing animal buddies and asked them if they were alright. Cranky on the other hand went up to Shadow. Squawks got up and flew right on top of his shoulder. Cranky scratched under his beak in appreciation. "I knew you wouldn't let me down." The old gorilla bent down and lent a hand to Shadow. "You didn't do so bad yourself, whippersnapper."

Shadow didn't take his hand. Instead he pushed himself up back on his feet and stared him in the eye. What happened next was something that Mario, Yoshi, Sonic, or anyone else in that room would ever forget.

"I'm sorry."

A good portion of the people in that room looked at Shadow with eyes wide open, unable to comprehend what they just heard. Shadow reached behind him and pulled out Rouge's locket. He stared at it forlornly while explaining himself to everyone listening.

"I've lost people too. And, unlike these guys, they're never coming back. All I could think about was getting revenge on the being responsible. And as long as anyone was in my way, they could rot for all I care. But, now I see that I can't do that without betraying the memory of the people who made me who I am. You people needed me. Your family needed me, and the last thing they'd want is for me to turn my back on the innocent and the helpless just for the sake of revenge. And if honoring them requires that I swallow my pride and accept assistance, then so be it."

"Shadow does this mean?" Sonic was at a lost for words.

"Hmph. Don't get sentimental on me, Sonic. I am still the Ultimate Lifeform, which still makes me far superior to any of you... But, I suppose superiority has its limits, and you've all proven constantly that you can keep up. So, yes, I am returning to the team, but only until Mecha Sonic is destroyed. "

'Sweet!" Sonic cheered.

"Good to have you back," Mario said.

"Are you sure?" Yoshi asked Mario, "I was kind of appreciating the lack of put-downs."

"Well," Cranky said, "this is all touching, but I'm afraid war doesn't take a break. We need to get that rock away from K. Rool and put an end to this. That would be your cue, Squawks."

"Him?" Shadow asked.

"You didn't think I sent him there just to rescue the animals, did you?"

"We're not as helpless as you think," Squawks bragged. He started gagging and coughed up a wadded up manila envelope into Cranky's open hand. Everyone else was rightfully grossed out by this but Cranky just shook the drool away and straightened it out. After seeing the front of the folder, Cranky smiled and showed off to everyone. The words "K. ROOL'S SECRET PLAN" was written on it in black marker.

"With this, we got everything we need to knock that narcissistic nitwit off his perch. Let's not waste any time everybody! To the barracks, now!" But before anyone could move, a loud crash was heard overhead, just outside of Kong Mountain.

"What the heck was that, man?" Funky asked.

"I'll run up and check it out," Sonic told everybody. In a flash he was gone. In another flash, he was back. "You guys might want to see this." Everyone followed Sonic upstairs to Kong Mountain's secret entrance. The first thing they noticed were tire tracks in the mud surrounding the mountain. The tracks lead to the side of the mountain, just left of the secret entrance. There, Luigi laid with his head upon the wheel of the now, crushed, smoking Sky Pop. Mario ran up to check on his brother.

"Luigi! Are you alright?"

Luigi lifted his head and tried to nurse a small bruise. "Oh, Mamma mia..." Right after that, the airbag deployed. Mario and the others were shocked for a second, but Luigi's loud snoring just confirmed he was alright.

"Well, I guess it'll have to wait until the morning," Cranky decided. "Come on, let's get him out of there. Everyone struggled to put the airbag back in the steering wheel before dragging Luigi inside and heading off to sleep.

* * *

Krusha did not want to knock on his boss' door. He did not want to tell him that not only did the Robo-Kongs fail to kill the intruders, but also that his secret plans have been stolen from his office. And he did not want to think about the hundreds of ways the boss would punish him for his failure, all of them more terrifying than the last and none of them holding a candle to what he'd really have in store. But he knew running away was pointless. It was pointless for Krusha, it was pointless for Dogadon, so all he could do now was pray that confessing would grant him some small shred of mercy.

Krusha lifted his hand and knocked on the large metal door gently three times.

"Who is it?" Boomed a voice deeper than any demon.

"Kr-Krusha, sir." The strongest of the Klemlings was shaking in his proverbial boots. "I have some news re-regarding our plans to eliminate the Kongs."

"Is that so? Come in." The door opened swung open. Krusha stepped into the lab hidden inside the head of Kremling Kastle. Sitting in a simplistic metal chair with his back turned to him, the ruler of the Kremlings waited, watching everything that went on through over a dozen screens. Gone was the ridiculous persona of President K. Rump. Now sat, the Overlord of Crocodile Isle, King K. Rool.

Krusha didn't say anything for fear of upsetting his boss. But his boss go upset anyway waiting for him to speak up and yelled at him. "Spit it out already!"

Krusha jumped and blurted out everything in one long breath, "TheintrudersgotstoleyoursecretplansandtheyescapedbeforetheRobo-Kongscoulddestroythemwetriedourbestbuttheygotawaysomehowandnowtheyknoweverythingyou'regonnadopleasedon'thurtme!"

Krusha kneeled before his king in the hopes it would convince him to be lenient.

"Is that all?" K. Rool asked him.

Krusha gulped and blurted out one more secret, "I wet my bed until I was fourteen."

K. Rool stuck out a single finger from behind his throne and Krusha cringed. K. Rool then pushed a button on the computer in front of him and all the screens changed channels to make up a large scaly face.

"Chief Scientist Kalculus," said K. Rool, "How are operations proceeding?"

"Well, to put it in one word, they're extraordinary! We've been siphoning energy off the strange meteorite-I mean, the Supremacy Stone for days and it doesn't seem to be losing power! It hasn't even lost its luminescence!"

"And the secret weapon?"

"All being built right on schedule. By tomorrow afternoon, you'll be the proud owner of a-" King K. Rool hung up on him, having heard everything he wanted to hear.

"What-what was that about, your highness?"

"You didn't think I'd put all my chips on the Robo-Kongs did you? You see, I knew they'd eventually have the nerve to try and steal my plans. So I made a new plan, One they won't predict. One they can't possibly prepare for."

"So-so I did good? If everything went according to plan, does that mean I can go home?"

King K. Rool let out a deep cruel laugh from deep within his gut. He wiped a tear and turned to face Krusha. "Oh, heavens no."

"What? But, but you said-"

"I said that _you_ were in charge of making sure the Robo-Kongs were fully operational and battle ready. Didn't you say, and I quote, "There ain't nothing those greasy little monkeys can do against these bad boys?"

"We-well yeah, but-"

"I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR EXCUSES!" Krusha screamed and kneeled down lower, praying for forgiveness. It was so pitiful that K. Rool started to feel sorry for him. "Oh, I can't stay mad at you."

"You-you can't?"

"You were brave enough to tell me personally about your failure. I can respect that in my troops." K. Rool turned around to face his monitors again. "You've done a good deed. And you know what they say, no good deed..." leaned forwrd and pressed another button, this time opening a drop door under Krusha into a room of starving giant Klaptraps. "...goes unpunished."

"Wait, wait boss! I can do better! Give me another-" K. Rool pressed the button agaMi, shutting the trapdoor shut before he could hear the grisly noises.

He pressed another button and the monitors flashed, showing the Robo-Kongs in their cells, standing motionless. "Don't worry Kongs," he said in a mock-comforting voice, "you'll get to see your home soon. Unfortunately, it won't be for long, because by this time tomorrow, Donkey Kong Island will be nothing more but a memory! BWAHAHAHA AHAHAHA AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

* * *

 _ **After regaining his compassion, Shadow and the others are ready to save the Kongs from their archnemesis and get one step closer to ensuring the safety of the Mushroom Kingdom. But King K. Rool seems to be one step ahead of them.**_

 _ **Will Mario and the others be able to rescue the Kongs from their fate? Or will King K. Rool's newest weapon finally give him the edge he's been looking for?**_

 _ **Find out tomorrow in an all-new hair-raising adventure of Super Mario Bros. Z!**_

* * *

Credit Song: Donkey Kong 64 Music - Frantic Factory


	32. Rise of the Robo-Kongs-Part 1

The Kong Resistance were sleeping in the barracks of the Kong's secret hideout. And by barracks, I mean a bunch of mats laid out all over the room with a hammock in place for Cranky, and some scratchy old blankets. Despite the hard cave floor, the humidity and the team's empty bellies, they somehow managed to get a goodnight's sleep. A sleep that ended up being ruined as soon as Funky's alarm clock went off at 6:00 AM.

The little box displaying the time set next to his mat, grew wheels and moved itself to the center of the room. A bugle then popped out of it and began blaring "To Reveille" as loud as possible. Mario, Luigi, SOnic, Shadow, Yoshi, and Stuffwell woke up screaming at the sudden noise while the Kongs just got up without any real reaction. Funky Kong stood up and walked over to the alarm clock, shutting it off.

"Rise and Shine, dudes!" Funky declared. While Cranky and Candy got out of bed. All of the others were rubbing their eyes, annoyed that their sleep was interrupted. All except Luigi, who was currently freaking out over being in a mysterious room with a bunch of apes.

"Could somebody shut him up?" Shadow asked annoyed.

Mario leaned next to his brother and shook him violently. It got him to stop and Luigi turned over to ask what was going on before being interrupted by Cranky's grunting. Luigi got scared and hid behind his brother's back. Funky was confused, but then remembered what was wrong, and pulled out the translator again. With a flick of the switch, everyone was able to understand each other again.

"Sorry, bro. I forgot you don't speak Kong."

"Mario," Luigi said shivering, "what's a-going on?"

"Enough of your belly-achin'!" Cranky yelled. "We got lizards to beat and strategies to strategize! Funky, if you don't mind."

Funky flashed a thumbs-up and flipped a switch in the corner of the room. Right in the middle of the room, a large round table popped out of the ground. Cranky pulled out the plans he got from Squawks last night and laid it out in front of him. Everyone else got up and stood around it.

Finally having enough of being confused, Luigi yelled "Could someone please a-tell me what's going on?"

"Quit shoutin'! I'm old not deaf!"

"Sorry about that," Mario said. "The,uh, accident might've messed up his memory a bit. Do you mind if we just help him out on this?"

"Making sure everyone is on the same page is essential Cranky," Candy pointed out.

"Fine," Cranky sighed, "since the Green Baron over here took a nap, I suppose we'll have to start off by explaining the order of events..."

* * *

( _If any of you don't want to read the recap, just skip to the next line._ )

Basically, everything went to hell when that Chaos Emerald of yours (still a dumb name, by the way) crashed on Crocodile Isle and King K. Rool got his grubby hands on it.

For the next two weeks, we were totally hosed, bro. Kremlings showed up with new tech and steamrolled us. They kidnapped our toughest Kongs and most of our animal buddies.

Trust me, we would've gladly knocked on K. Rool's door and "asked politely" to get them back. But with the Kremlings occupying the whole island and all of our food getting stolen, we had to focus on simply surviving.

That's when I showed up. I tracked the sixth Chaos Emerald's energy and it led me here. But since its energy signature was all over the archipelago, I started my search on Donkey Kong Island. Or I would've if Mecha Sonic hadn't arrived and-

-and kicked your butt?

And gotten lucky, you scaly plush toy. Anyway, Mecha Sonic was forced to run like the coward he is and I was taken by the Kongs to recover.

Where he thanked us by telling us to get out of his sight and let him go after the Chaos Emerald on his own. Instead I "persuaded" him into rescuing some of our allies.

Don't pat yourself on the back too hard old man. You manipulated me into infiltrating Krem Co. by telling me that that was the location of the Chaos Emerald! You also sent your annoying pet to follow me and make sure everything went like you expected.

Really? Because I kinda doubt he would've expected a bunch of giant robot apes designed to look like his family members trying to kill us.

I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Master Sonic on this one. Luckily for all of us, Master Shadow was able to procure a Chaos Emerald and used its power to allow our escape. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one we were after.

But Squawks did manage to get something almost as groovy, K. Rool's secret plans for Kong Island.

Which we would've gladly looked over last night if this whippersnapper hadn't crashed into our mountain and knocked himself out.

* * *

Luigi remembered everything that was going on now and rubbed his head in embarrassment. "I-in my defense, the ground was very slippery."

"The most important thing is that you're alright," Mario assured him.

"No," Cranky dismissed, "the most important thing is this." Cranky opened the file and a massive blue piece of paper spread itself all over the table. The paper had white drawings of the Robo-Kongs and Kong Island, along with various words, numbers and arrows.

"My word," Stuffwell said, "I believe that these are blueprints."

"Yep, blueprints of what K. Rool has done to our kin and what he's going to make them do to our home."

"I a-take it you've read them already?" Mario asked.

"Yep, while you all were getting your beauty sleep, I was getting prepared to save our family!"

"Easy old-timer," Candy soothed. "I know you're excited to rescue Donkey and the others. We all are. But let's save the aggression for K. Rool and his army."

"Hmph, fine. The first thing I discovered is that the Robo-Kongs are exactly what we feared. K. Rool has trapped the kidnapped Kongs inside these giant metal knock-offs. What's worse is that he's connected them with some type of neural link."

"But that would mean the robots are directly taking the Kongs' skills and combat abilities from their brains," Stuffwell assessed.

"Oh, it gets even better than that. The neural link also makes it so that whatever damage the outer shell takes, the soft hairy center also feels it."

"So if we fight them they'll really feel it," Shadow repeated. "And if we do serious damage to them-"

"Then we won't do that," Sonic interrupted.

"Especially not to the chest area. Apart from the Chaos Energy you told me about, these things are also powered by miniature nuclear reactor. If it takes to much of a beating, not only do they go down, but everything within miles will be blown to kingdom come!"

"No body shots, got it," Yoshi said. "There has to be a way to shut those things down without hurting them, right?"

"Actually, yes. If you look down, you'll notice that each Robo-Kong has a series of numbers next to them. Those numbers are actually a 15-digit passcode that once entered will open the hatch to free them. Once that happens, you just need to reach in and pull them out. The problem is that each code is different and ridiculously complicated. Also, the panel to type in the passcode is hidden right between the robot's eyes, so we'd have to get up close and personal to find them. And our best bet of doing so is during the invasion."

That last sentence shocked everyone present.

"Invasion? What invasion?" Funky asked.

"Take a look at the center."

Everyone followed Cranky's instructions and saw something in the blueprints that really stood out.

"Why," Stuffwell started, "this appears to be a map of Kong Island."

"Yep. As you can see, Donkey Kong Island isn't your normal tropical paradise. There are vastly different biomes in this one little place. And King K. Rool plans to use the Kongs against us by dropping them from the sky into these four locations. First, there's the Gorilla Glacier mountains in the north; Diddy and Lanky will melt down all the snow there to cause a massive flood. Then there's the western jungle; Dixie and Tiny will create a tornado that will rip everything apart. Next up is the mines located in the east; once Chunky and Tiny get to the bottom of those mines, they'll use their insane strength to shake up the whole island with massive earthquakes. Last, there's the south where..." Cranky got really quiet all of a sudden. Funky and Cranky had known him practically their whole lives, and for the first time ever he actually looked sad.

"Cranky? What's wrong?" Candy asked.

"Yeah, dude. I've never seen you like this." Funky added.

Cranky ignored their concerns and pressed on. "The south is where Donkey is going to jump into the volcano."

"What?!" Everyone shouted.

"The nuclear reactor inside the Robo-Donkey's chassis would obviously be damaged if it were melted by lava. Once that happens, it'll set off an explosion that'll cause the volcano to erupt. Basically, K. Rool has programmed Donkey to take the whole island out with him."

The realization of K. Rool's plan shocked everybody. It wasn't enough for him to kill the Kongs. No, he was going to make them destroy everything they had, including themselves.

"That's so horrible," said Yoshi.

"I didn't believe you about K. Rool when I met him, but this is just low." said Shadow. Shadow looked at Cranky and for once, he truly looked like his age, a tired old man worried for his grandson. "I swear, we will save them," Shadow assured. "You have the word of the Ultimate Life Form."

"You have our word too," Sonic promised."Right guys?"

"Right." Everyone agreed. Hearing that made the old Kong smile, if only for a little bit.

"Alright," Cranky said with a renewed enthusiasm, "let's get back to business. On top of the Robo-Kongs, K. Rool is sending fleets of armed Kremlings by sea, armed with their new weapons. We actually managed to attain a couple of these things for study. Funky, if you don't mind." Funky ran off to his lab. About a minute later he returned and placed something on the table.

"Here it is, bros," Funky said. "The new weapons that have been kicking our keister."

"This looks like an assault rifle," Shadow said.

"What?"

"It's a gun. We had them everywhere where I came from. Except normal guns don't have these coils all over it." Shadow lifted the gun and pointed out the coils in question.

"That's where the power supply goes," Cranky explained. "My best guess is that it's fueled by the energy from that fancy rock of yours."

"If that's the case, K. Rool has managed to tap into enough power to wage war against the whole world."

"Then we're just gonna have to beat him at the war here!" Sonic said.

"Exactly," Cranky agreed. But before he could say anything else, they heard splashing coming from the lake outside.

"Isn't that Enguarde and Glimmer?" Candy asked.

"Maybe they're hungry?" Funky suggested.

"We're all hungry!" Cranky snarked. "Whatever it is, it can wait." But as Cranky said that, the splashing became more frequent and loud. "I've already compiled a strategy to win this war. First, we'll have to sneak our way around the island, avoiding any unnecessary conflict with the Kremlings stationed all over." As the splashing grew louder, Cranky had to start shouting. "Then we'll secure a base around each of these four locations, meticulously choosing which groups of people will be stationed there to ensure the best outcome!" The splashing became almost impossible to ignore at this point and Cranky's attempts to drown it out were starting to fail. "Then when the Kongs arrive, we'll carefully ambush them and free them from their metal bodies! With enough time everything will go smoothly and we can all get what we want! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON OUT THERE!?" Cranky grabbed his cane and stormed out of the barracks. He marched towards the lake where he saw Enguarde and Glimmer splashing around like maniacs. Funky grabbed the translator and everyone else followed Cranky while he yelled at the two fish. "Whatever you have to say, it better be worth wasting my time!"

The two of them stopped splashing, their faces portraying panic and fear. "Squawks just came back from Crocodile Isle!" Enguarde said. "He said they're launching a massive army here right now! They'll be here in an hour tops!"

Cranky stayed totally silent for about ten seconds. He then turned around to face the other heroes.

"Okay, change of plans." Cranky whistled and all of the other animals came running from their pens. "You guys decide who goes where. I'll be in my lab."

"Wait a minute!" Shadow yelled. "Didn't you hear what they said? We have no time for a plan!"

"Well then, I guess you'll have to make time. You there, in the red!" Mario looked around and pointed at himself. "Yeah, you! You look like you're used to dealing with monkey business. I'll leave you in charge with where these chuckleheads go. I have preparations to make."

Everyone watched as Cranky walked off to his lab and shut the door.

"Okayyy..." Mario said awkwardly. "Well, if I'm a-gonna make the decisions, I should have a good grasp on what everyone can do. And since I know what my team's capable of, I just need to hear from everyone else. If nobody minds, that is."

Nobody objected.

"Great! Ladies first?"

"My, what a gentleman," Candy said. "Well, I can't say I can do much, but I am pretty handy with my boyfriend's cannon."

Mario just looked at her confused before Shadow clarified for him. "You remember the log thing next to her bed? It used to be Donkey's and it fires coconuts."

"Oh, so that's what you meant," Mario said to Candy.

"Did you think I meant something else?" She asked him.

"Let's move on! Funky, what is it that you do?"

"A lot of things, bro. I can build, I can fix, and not to toot my own horn, but I'm a pretty mean shot."

"All right, now for the animals. Tell me what all of you can do."

"I can hit really hard," said Rambi.

"Me too!" Ellie followed.

"Me and Rattly are good jumpers." Winky explained.

"I'm the fastest runner in the whole jungle!" Expresso bragged.

"Ha!" Sonic laughed. Everyone looked at him. "Sorry. Force of habit. Carry on."

"I can shoot webbing that can stick to anything!" said Squitter. To prove this he spat out a web that got stuck to Luigi's face. Luigi started panicking and tried to claw the web off. Yoshi pulled it off him and Luigi took a deep breath.

"Anything else you can do?" Mario asked him.

"Uh, I got a perfect score on my SATs!"

"Oh, congratulations!"

"Thanks."

"Okay, now what can the fish do?"

"MY nose is sharp enough to cut through anything!" Enguarde pointed out.

"Mm-hmm. And what about him?"

"Oh, Glimmer? Quick, show them."

Glimmer opened his mouth to reveal his empty pink gums.

"Is that it?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah," Yoshi agreed. "He's completely-

Just then rows of needle-like fangs jutted out of his gums. They were as white as an oyster's pearl and sparkled when Glimmer smiled. The heroes' unimpressed expressions went away in exchange for wide-eyed shock.

"-toothless..."

"And the birds?" Mario asked.

"They fly, what else do they do?" Shadow asked.

"I can do this!" Squawks told him. He then spat out an egg on Shadow's face. Sonic, Yoshi, and Luigi had to hold back Shadow to keep him from throttling Squawks. Mario, meanwhile, stepped out to face everyone so he could tell them his plan.

"Okay, here's how it'll be. First, Winky and Rattly will carry Candy and Yoshi up Gorilla Glacier to deal with the Robo-Kongs there."

"I'll get some scarfs," Candy said before heading back to the barracks.

"Next, Sonic, Expresso, and Squitter will head to the jungle to stop Dixie and Tiny."

"Time for you to put your money where your mouth is," Expresso whispered to Sonic.

"Just try to keep up," Sonic whispered back.

Mario continued. "Next, Luigi will take Rambi and Ellie into the mines to stop the Kongs from reaching the bottom."

"You want me to head into a dark creepy cave with two killer robots and teammates that have a non-0 percent chance of crushing me to death?" Luigi asked him.

"I want you to go because it'll take the strongest people here to stop them. And I've been with you long enough to know how strong you are." Luigi's fear was overcome by the sheer pride he felt from his big brother. Luigi had no further complaint.

"And finally, me and Shadow will head to the volcano and stop Donkey from taking his own life. Each team will be carrying the passcodes needed to free the Kongs from their metal bodies."

"Not a bad plan," Shadow admitted. "But what about the reinforcements arriving by sea?"

"Enguarde and Glimmer will try to sink the reinforcements before they arrive. Meanwhile, all of the fliers will distract the air ships, buying us enough time to get into position. Funky and Stuffwell will get to work fixing the Sky Pop to help out. Can you do that, guys?"

"You can count on me, bro!" Funky said with a thumbs-up.

"Affirmative, Master Mario."

"Once the rest of us are in position, the fliers will come down to finish them off. And once the Kongs are in position, we'll get to work to freeing them. Does anyone have any complaints?"

"Trust me!" Cranky shouted. Everyone turned to see him switching his cane with one of the Kremling's rifles, only this one was glowing with Chaos power. "If you two don't let me in on this operation, you're gonna get an earful!"

"You're coming with us?" Yoshi questioned.

"Not you. Them," Cranky pointed at Mario and Shadow. "If you think I'm leaving my grandson's fate to the two of you, you're stupider than a Kremling."

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Mario suggested.

"The last thing we need is some old man slowing us down," Shadow said.

Cranky swung at Shadow's head with the rifle but Shadow dodged in time. "Don't you 'old man' me, sonny! I've seen more action than the two of you put together and no one is going to be knocking my grandson around except me! So I'm coming along whether you like it or not!"

"Okay then," Mario shyly agreed. "So, everyone knows what their position is."

"Right," said everybody.

"I'm back!" Candy said. She had a scarf wrapped around her neck and wrapped one around Yoshi, Winky, and Rattly. She then started passing strips of blue paper around. "I overheard the rest of the plan and have taken liberty the liberty ripping out the codes for each Kong. Don't worry, I've made sure to remember which is which."

"That's great!" Mario exclaimed. "With this, we have everything we need. Now, I know I haven't known most of you long, but I know how important this is to you. It's important to us too, not just because of the Emerald, but because saving lives is what we do. It's what we were born to do. And today, I know all of you will do everything in your power to save everyone. And that's how I know we will win. Because when it truly matters, everybody has the-"

"Hey, inspiring speech and all," Cranky interrupted, "but we're still gonna die by the time you're finished."

"Uh, right. Go team! Let's move!" Everyone quickly followed Mario out of the secret base except for Cranky and Shadow, the former of which was keeping the latter behind to show him something.

"I've prepared another special medicine for ya." Cranky reached behind him and pulled out another vial full of green liquid. Shadow eyed it suspiciously. "What? THe last one helped you, didn't it?"

"Fine." Shadow grabbed the vial and chugged it. He waited for the effects to kick in but didn't feel any change. "I don't feel anything."

"Hmm? I did make it in just a few seconds. Maybe it'll take a while."

"If whatever you gave me ends up killing me, I'll kill you."

"Duly noted. Now let's get moving."


	33. Rise of the Robo-Kongs-Part 2

High up in the sky, directly between Crocodile Isle and Donkey Kong Island, four green carriers flew closer to the Kong's homeland to drop off their deadly cargo. Aside from the one leading this strike, each carrier held two Kongs and each one were heading to different locations on Kong Island. General Klump was piloting this particular ship as well as leading the entire squadron behind him. All the others behind him moved and stopped at his command.

General Klump was feeling pretty satisfied. King K. Rool's plan to destroy Kong Island was his best one yet, because it didn't involve him getting his head smashed in by the Kongs. All he had to do was drop off the payload onto their targets and go home as DK Island goes to hell at the hands of its own protectors. Far below, he saw roughly a dozen pirate ships carrying dozens of Kremlings each. They had a far lead of them and were likely going to reach DK Island first. General Klump laughed to himself, thinking about last night with his boss. K. Rool told him about how the troops on those ships were going to storm the island to distract the remaining Kongs and their friends long enough to drop the payload and destroy their precious island with them on it. He and K. Rool burst out laughing, it was so mean he almost felt sorry for those guys. Almost.

His thoughts about the looks on their faces were interrupted by a loud tapping noise. He looked up to see a colorful bird pecking at his windshield.

Klump turned on the wipers, forcing the bird to back off and fly away. After a few seconds, the bird came back and started pecking on that exact same spot but faster this time, making the tapping even more annoying.

General Klump turned the wipers on again and kept them on, ensuring that the bird wouldn't come back. And while the scraping noise that would come every few seconds was irritating, it was a better alternative to the tapping and he didn't have to see that bird anymore. Except that he did. And now, in between the scraping of the wipers, he had to hear him pecking at his glass.

Not taking it anymore, Klump stooped down, grabbed his gun, got back up and fired at it. The bird just flew out of the way and landed on a different spot and started pecking there, so Klump changed directions and fired again only for the bird to dodge again and move to another spot. Blind with rage at this point, Klump fired rapidly all over the windshield until there wasn't a shard of glass left. Once it was done, he took deep breaths and looked around to see if that bird was there. No sign of it.

Pleased, Klump dropped his gun to his side and continued steering, only to be distracted by another tapping sound, this time coming from the glass window on the other side of his door. Now more annoyed than ever, Klump left his post and walked over to the door. He opened it and Parry flew a few just out of reach, forcing Klump to actually talk to him.

"What do you want?" The Kremling general shouted angrily.

"What?" Parry asked back.

Klump stuck out his head further and raised his voice. "I said, 'what do you want?'!"

"Oh nothing." Parry said with a shrug.

"Then why do you keep annoying me?"

"I'm not trying to annoy you," he said innocently. "I'm just distracting you long enough for Squawks and Quawks to finish slathering your ship in honey."

"Honey?"

"Yeah, look for yourself." Klump followed his instructions. Sure enough, the entire carrier was covered in honey. A large drop of it fell off and landed on his face.

Klump wiped off the honey that was over his eyelids and yelled even louder. "WHY ARE YOU POURING HONEY ON MY SHIP!?"

"Well you see, we were sent over to keep you from reaching Kong Island but on the way over we thought, 'What could three little birds do against a massive flying ship?" Answer: not much. Then we asked ourselves, 'What could thousands of angry Zingers who want their honey back do against a massive flying ship?'"

Right on cue, Klump heard the buzzing of thousands of bug wings and looked down to see a swarm of Zingers flying skyward. With the mixture of yellow, orange, and red, it looked like a massive fire. A fire made out of spikes and heading straight for him.

"Quick!" Parry yelled. "Shut the door so that they can't get in!" After following his advice, Klump ran over to the two-way radio and shouted out instructions to the pilots of the other three ships.

"This is General Klump, pilot of the Donkey airship and head command of this operation. My ship is currently being attacked by Zingers! I'm ordering all personnel to get on their helicopter packs, eliminate the birds responsible, and get these bugs off my airship!"

One of the pilots responded on the other line. "Copy, General Klump. This is pilot Kackle of the Diddy/Lanky airship. Unfortunately, your ship is moving faster than our copter packs could reach you. I'm afraid you'll have to slow down if you want our assistance."

"I have to agree," said another voice.

"Me too," spoke the third voice.

"Fine!" exclaimed Klump. He slowed down the ship until it was at a complete standstill. "There, I stopped the ship. Now hurry up and get me out of this mess!" Klump hung up and jumped at the sight of dozens of Zingers all staring at him through his windshield. The fear quickly faded away as he remembered he was safe.

"Stupid muck bees!" Klump laughed. He scraped some of the honey off his face and licked it off his finger. "Mmm! So good! Too bad you can't have any of this because of all this glass in the way!" To demonstrate, he reached up and tried to knock on the glass, only for his fist to not hit anything. Klump suddenly remembered that he blasted the windshield to kingdom come trying to get rid of Parry.

The zingers flew into the cockpit, slowly making their way towards Klump. Their stingers primed and ready to take back what was left of their precious honey. Klump grabbed his gun and backed away as the Zingers drew near. "Stay away from me! I'm warning you! Stay back!" They didn't heed his warnings and Klump squeezed the trigger. All that happened was a faint clicking noise. Looking down, he saw that the coil wasn't glowing cyan anymore and realized that he wasted all his ammo on Parry.

Klump tossed his gun aside and showed his hands in an attempt to convince them he meant no harm. The zingers just flew closer until Klump's back was against the wall and he had no way out.

"Maybe we can discuss this over tea? Wait! Not the face! NO! NOOOOOO!"

* * *

Far beneath them, arriving by sea, the crew of reinforcements either didn't notice what was going on, didn't care, or couldn't stop laughing. Every one of them were armed and dangerous, eagerly waiting the opportunity to watch DK Island razed. One ship in the far back had most of its crew resting about at the bottom, playing dice, arm wrestling and cleaning their weapons for the coming invasion. They were laughing and having a good time, thinking about how their lifelong mission will finally come to a close. Then they heard something strange coming from the back and saw what looked to be a long blue jutting out of the floor and making its way around the ship. The Kremlings watched as it did a complete oval along the bottom, before disappearing into the floor. The Kremlings looked at each other, wondering what they just saw, before a massive rush of water burst in underneath them and sunk the whole ship in a matter of seconds.

One Kremling on the ship right next to it saw this happening and ordered all the other Kremlings to come over and see this.

"What the heck just happened?"

"That entire ship just vanished."

"Wait! I see something under the water!"

"It's the Kong's pet swordfish!"

"Think he might've done it?"

"One way to find out." One of the Kremlings pointed his rifle at the ocean. He looked through his scope to get a clearer view of Enguarde. "Gotcha." But before he could pull the trigger, his vision was blocked by the big black eyes of an angler fish. He pulled his head back to see the fish biting down on the muzzle of his gun. Glimmer continued to eat the gun, working his way up until the Kremling dropped it into the ocean.

"What the heck was that?!" The Kremling shrieked.

"Forget aiming!" The captain yelled. "Just fire into the ocean! Keep them away from our ship!' Kremlings rushed to all sides and fired their rifles down into the ocean. What they didn't take into account was that Enguarde and Glimmer were already under their ship.

"Do you want to take this one?" Enguarde asked Glimmer. Glimmer opened his mouth and bit a huge chunk out from the ship's underside. Water began rushing in and Enguarde dove straight down. Once he was far down enough, he swam back up and went through the hole. He jumped out of the water and his sword nose poked through the floor, jabbing the ship's captain right in ample hide.

"YEOWWWW!" The Kremling howled. He leaped into the air screaming all the way up and down. After he landed back on his ship, he rubbed his stinging rear end and yelled at his troops. "They're underneath us!"

"I got 'em!" shouted one Kremling who was carrying a Chaos powered bazooka. He ran towards next to the captain and pointed it at the hole Enguarde left behind.

"Kaboom! Stop!" The captain shouted. But it was too late. Kaboom fired right into the ship's floor, blasting both him and the captain off the ship. When the two surfaced out of the water, they watched as the ship broke in half before being swallowed up by the sea. The captain casted a death glare at Kaboom, for which the latter blithely ignored and proclaimed, "At least I got 'em, Captain!"

Before the Captain could chew him out, he was jabbed in the butt again and rocketed into the sky. This time when he fell down, it was right on Kaboom's head, sinking them both.

Enguarde and Glimmer popped out of the water. "Remind me why we have so much trouble with these guys?"

Watching the whole debacle through his telescope, the leader of the naval reinforcements, Captain Scurvy, shook his head in disgust. "Idiots. All o' ye." He turned to his first mate, who saluted him as soon as they made eye contact. "Get me King K. Rool."

* * *

K. Rool was watching his armies making their way towards DK Island. In his hand, he clutched the Chaos Emerald, staring in awe and delight at its power. With this one little rock, he had managed to build weapons for his armies that none of the Kongs stood a chance against. Even after draining its power for weeks on end, it didn't show any sign of degradation. It was still as brilliant as the moment he found it. When it crashed on his territory, King K. Rool knew that this was destiny giving him his long-awaited opportunity. To have everything he could ever want; starting with the destruction of his hated enemies, the Kongs.

One of the buttons on the dashboard in front of him started beeping. K. Rool pushed it and it showed the face of a pale green Kremling wearing a pirate hat.

"Captain Skurvy, and to what do I owe the pleasure," K. Rool said dispassionately.

"Arrgh my king, our ships are being attacked by the Kongs' annoying fish. Also, the flying carriers you left Klump in charge with, are being attacked as we speak."

"I haven't heard anything from Klump about an attack." Another button on his dashboard starts beeping. "Hang on." K. Rool pushed the button and the screen changed to swarms of Zingers covering the screen, the room filled with the sound of their buzzing wings and Klump's cries for help.

'HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPP!"

K. Rool hung up on Klump and went back to Skurvy. "Wrong number."

"Anyway, me crew are too stupid to figure out how to kill two fish, so I figured some instruction from you would be in order."

K. Rool thought for a moment. "Let me get back to you on that." He hung up on Skurvy and called Chief Scientist Kalculus. After a few seconds, Kalculus' face showed on screen.

"What can I do for you, oh magnificent overlord of-"

"Skip the ass-kissing. Is the device ready yet?"

"Almost, your excellency, we just haven't finished charging it."

"Still? How long does it take to power a doomsday device?"

"We could fire it now, but you specifically stated, and I quote 'I want that puny, annoying little island gone forever. Make sure that not even a trace of it exists and that no one but us will ever know it was there.' Firing it now would merely make it uninhabitable for a 1000 years."

K. Rool thought this over for a moment. "Naw, keep charging. The best things in life are worth waiting for after all."

"Yes, my King."

K. Rool hung up and got back to Captain Skurvy. "I want you to cease all movement until those fish are destroyed. Have five soldiers underwater for each boat. One at all sides including beneath. Don't go anywhere until those fish are dead or I command it. Understood?"

"Arrgh, me King. Understood." The call was over and the screens went black. K. Rool knew they would never kill those fish. He made sure to pick the most dimwitted and expendable forces in his army to storm DK Island. After all, this was the perfect opportunity to trim any unnecessary fat from his troops. Right now, all he needed to do was waste his enemies' time until his real plan was ready. Until then, he needed something to pass the time. He got down and picked up a bucket of popcorn and then pressed a button to watch Klump being attacked by zingers.

"THEIR STINGERS ARE IN MY EYES! MY EEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!

* * *

Back on Donkey Kong Island, our heroes were working their way towards their destination. Mario, Shadow, and Cranky were making their way south, sticking to the shade under the trees and avoiding the Kremling soldiers on the paths.

"This is taking forever," Shadow whispered. "We'd be going much faster charging through these idiots rather than sneaking around them."

"Fighting takes time and energy," Cranky explained. "One we don't have and the other is better spent stopping my brainwashed grandson."

"I sure hope everyone is alright. There are a lot of guards out there," Mario said. "What if something happens to the birds or the fish?"

"Relax. Those five have more brainpower than the entire Kremling armada put together. What's important is that everyone else recognizes that the best approach is stealth and silence."

* * *

Luigi was screaming at the top of his lungs, unable to control the rampaging Rambi he was riding on or the stampeding Ellie besides him as they tore down trees, sent other animals running for their lives and pretty much gave a large middle finger to the concept of subtlety.

* * *

"Is sneaking really necessary?" Shadow asked. "With my power, I could simply teleport to the volcano and save us this pussyfooting."

"But without an Emerald, your Chaos Control only works for you ," Mario pointed out. "If you could figure out a way to use your power to get all of us there without anyone noticing I'd love to hear it."

* * *

Twenty Kremlings were all standing patrol over a path in the jungle, every single one of them saw a streak of blue appear in front of them only to disappear less than a second later. It went by so fast, that none of them were really sure if they saw anything at all and didn't bring it up for fear of looking crazy.

"Hey did you see something?"

"Nope. Nothin'."

"Me neither."

None of them realized that what they saw was the fastest thing alive, Sonic the Hedgehog, racing to the most western part of the jungle while Expresso and Squitter hung on for dear life to the vines they tied around Sonic's waist and their's.

* * *

"And besides, it's not like we're the only one's who are suffering." Mario said. "I can assure you that no one is having fun trying to get through this dangerous, Kremling infested jungle."

* * *

"WHEEEEEEE!"

Yoshi and Candy were having the time of their lives riding on Rattly and Winky respectively to the top of Gorilla Glacier.

* * *

"Whatever," Shadow said dismissively. "How long until we get there?"

"It shouldn't be too far now," Cranky answered. "We just need to get past this next clearing and we'll be in position to save Donkey."

"But first, we need to get through all these trees." Mario pointed out. "I think we're almost there." Mario pushed aside a few leaves. Sunlight washed over them as their long trek was coming to a close. At least hat was what Cranky and Shadow thought before Mario let out a disheartened "Oh, Mamma Mia."

"You guys might want to see this." He said. He moved out of the way to give Shadow and Cranky a good view of what he saw. It was definitely the valley that Cranky was talking about. They could even see the volcano off in the distance. But before they saw that, they saw Kremlings. Hundreds of them covering every inch of this valley and armed to the teeth.

"There's no way we can sneak past all of them," Cranky said. "We'll have to stick to the jungle and go around."

"This valley is huge. If we try to sneak around it, we might run out of time." Mario addressed.

"Then we'll do what I've been saying from the start; running right through these idiots rather than tiptoeing around them." Shadow demanded.

"And they say I'm senile," Cranky snarked. "Did you forget how many there are down there? We wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Then stay out of my way and I'll get rid of them my-GAAAAHH!"

"Shadow, what's wrong?" Mario asked.

"I don't know. All of a sudden, my stomach felt like it was on fire."

"Ah, that would be my medicine finally kicking in," Cranky explained.

"Medicine?" Mario said confused. "What medicine?"

"What did you do to me, you geezer?" Shadow demanded.

"Oh, just this," Cranky pointed his rifle at Shadow's face and pulled the trigger.


	34. Rise of the Robo-Kongs-Part 3

"Shadow!" Mario couldn't believe his eyes. Cranky had just murdered Shadow! The blast had knocked Shadow off his feet and sent him hurtling into a nearby palm tree. Mario swept Cranky's feet, knocking him to the ground and disarming him. Mario lifted Cranky by his beard and glared directly into his eyes. "What did you do?"

Cranky merely pointed back at Shadow's smoking corpse. Mario looked back and saw that Shadow was standing and clutching his own face.

"Ugh. What the hell was that?" Shadow said. When he dropped his hand, Mario saw, much to his shock, that Shadow was completely fine. The point-blank shot to the face didn't do anything to him. Shadow remembered what just happened to him and, faster than Mario could see, Shadow shoved the plumber out of the way and now he was the one grabbing Cranky. "What did you do to me, you bastard?"

"Demonstrating what my potion did to you," Cranky answered. "Tell me, how are you feeling right now?"

"I feel like tearing your arms off and beating you with them for shooting me in the face!"

"Well, that goes without saying. What else?"

"I feel...I feel stronger actually." Shadow was surprised to feel that not only did Cranky's shot not work, it actually made him more powerful than before. "What happened to me?"

"That would be my medicine doing its job. I borrowed a couple of your quills while you were taking a nap and found that it was coated in the same energy that K. Rool powers his weapons. So I whipped up a potion that will let you suck up all their blasts, rendering their weapons useless."

Shadow yanked Cranky back to his feet and let him go. "Are you telling me I have the power to absorb Chaos Energy?"

"Eh, if only for 24 hours. Which is a lot more time than we have so I'd suggest you get to it."

"Get to what?"

"Before, we'd have to go around all those dim-bulbs," Cranky referred to the Kremlings. "But now, you can go right through them."

"You want Shadow to fight all those Kremlings?" Mario asked. "Even with his new power that's still too dangerous. We should come up with a plan to-"

"HEY IDIOTS!" Mario just now noticed that Shadow went off to fight the Kremlings.

All of the Kremlings turned to see a red and black hedgehog glaring at them. "You talkin' to us?" One of them asked.

"Yes, I am. Now, I'm in a good mood so I'll give the lot of you ten seconds to get out of my way. Ten."

The Kremlings pointed their guns at him.

"Nine."

The Kremlings open fire on Shadow.

"Eight."

Shadow absorbs their blasts without even reacting.

"Seven."

Shadow walked towards them.

"Six."

The Kremlings have no idea what's going on. They just keep firing.

"Five."

Shadow begins to glow with a red aura.

"Four."

One of the Kremlings gets a call on his walkie-talkie.

"Three!"

He passes the message along to the nearby Kremlings, who pass it to them.

"Two!"

Shadow's red aura glows even brighter.

" _Chaos-_ "

"Shadow, stop!" Shadow heard Mario yelling and turned him, still hiding behind the bushes.

"What do you want?"

"They're gone!"

Shadow was confused but then he turned around and saw all the Kremlings have disappeared.

* * *

A few minutes earlier at Gorilla Glacier...

Yoshi and Candy have finally arrived at the mountain's summit. Once there, they saw what appeared to be a hundred Kremling soldiers. The four of them hid behind a large rock.

"Okay," Yoshi began, "We're going to need a way to get these guys off the mountain. I was thinking that we-" Yoshi was interrupted by Candy gesturing him to stop.

"Let me handle this. That is, if you don't mind."

"Uhm, sure. Go ahead." Yoshi was curious as to what Candy was plotting.

"Thank you." Candy stepped away from the rock, in plain view of all Kremlings present. "Hey boys!" she said.

"What are you doing?" Yoshi silently screamed at her. Candy just shushed him. Several of the Kremlings stepped right in front of her. They looked down, curious as to what she's doing there and ready to blast her to smithereens if she tries something funny.

"State your business." The tallest one said.

"And make it quick!" The one behind him pleaded while trying to warm himself up. "It's freezing up here!"

"Oh, I just wanted to give you boys a little something." Candy reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of blue paper. She handed it to the Kremling in front of her.

"What do I do with this?" He asked.

"Open it, silly."

The Kremling did followed her instructions and unfolded the little blue paper, revealing the large blueprints for K. Rool's evil plans, slightly torn up where the passcodes were, but otherwise alright. The Kremling looked at the blueprints in his hand, thoughtfully looking over every inch of it before showing it back to Candy.

"I don't know what I'm looking at." Candy rolled her eyes. She grabbed the blueprints from his hands and flipped it back rightside-up. "Hey, this is the boss' secret plans! Where did you get this?"

"Never you mind. Just read what it is."

The Kremlings huddled together to read K. Rool's intentions. "Wait a minute, if he does all this stuff to the island while we're on the island..."

"...then that means the boss is going to kill all of us!"

"What?! That can't be right! The boss wouldn't do that!"

"Stop kidding yourself! Everyone knows K. Rool's crazy!"

"Well I'm not. I'm getting off of this island!"

"Same here! I'll contact the other Kremlings and tell them to GTFO!"

The Kremlings ran down the mountain in various directions. All of them panicking at the thought of their king leaving them to die. Candy crossed her arms and let out an annoyed hmph. "You think they'd at least say 'thank you.'"

Yoshi and the others stepped out from behind the rock and looked at her in amazement.

"Wow, Candy that was incredible!" Yoshi complimented.

"It's not really a big deal." Candy shrugged. "Even Kremlings are smart enough to get off the ship once it starts sinking."

* * *

"Do not get off your ships, men!" Kaptain Skurvy yelled through a megaphone. "I don't care if it starts sinkin'! Until King K. Rool tells us otherwise, we're not leaving until those fish are fried!"

As per K. Rool's instructions, there was an armed Kremling wearing scuba equipment watching each side of the ship for Enguarde and Glimmer. The two fish watched the troops from a far off distance.

"This isn't looking good, Glimmer," Enguarde said. "There's no way we could take them out now that they're watching us. At least they aren't moving anymore so we've bought everyone enough time. Still, we could really use some back-up."

* * *

Up in the sky, several Kremlings were flying on Kopter-packs, blasting at Zingers while trying to maintain as much distance between them as possible. Overlooking this insanity, too far away for either party to notice them, was Parry and Quawks.

"You know," Parry said, "siccing all those zingers on him was so mean, I almost feel bad for him. Almost."

"What we really need to worry about is if everyone can make it in time," Quawks said. "Even if the Kremlings are stopped dead in their tracks, it won't do anything to save the Kongs. Hopefully, Squawks will come soon and tell us we're ready to go."

"Yeah, about that." Quawks looked at Parry and noticed his concern. "You see, I was so excited after I heard about the part where I get to annoy their General that I never got to ask how we're going to get rid of the Zingers."

Quawks face revealed that he didn't really thought about that either. "M-maybe the Kremlings will drive them off in time?" As if on cue, A kremling flew right past them screaming, being followed by about a few dozen zingers. Parry looked at him in exasperation. "Try looking at it like this; they already got a few of them to go away." After what sounded like screeching howls of unparalleled agony, the zingers flew right past the two birds and back to the swarm. "Okay, so we might not know all the details of Squawks' plan, but I'm sure he thought of something."

"Squawk! Thought of what?"

Quawks and Parry turned to see Squawks flying towards them.

"We were talking about how we're going to get rid of the zingers so we can go save the Kongs," Parry explained.

Squawks didn't say anything.

"You _have_ thought about how we're going to do that, right cousin?" Quawks asked. "Because you know that as long as they're still there, those ships can't move and we can't rescue the others, right?"

"Squawk! Well..." Just then, they heard propellers spinning and looked down to Funky and Stuffwell flying on the Sky Pop. They dove and flew next to them.

"Hey dudes!" Funky said. "As you can see, Stuffwell and I got this baby fixed no-problemo."

"We have also received updatissions from the rest of the resistance," Stuffwell explained. "Everyone is in position and are awaiting the arrival of the Robo-Kongs."

"Yeah, about that..." Parry started to explain.

"Don't worry about the zingers, bros. We got just the thing." Funky assured. He turned back to Stuffwell. "You ready little robo-bro?"

"Yes, let us deal with these rapscallions post-haste."

"Right on!" Funky piloted the ship downwards; it took off like a bullet aimed straight for Captain Skurvy's armada. "Banzai!"

"BACK TO ADVENTURE!"

The plane pulled up just over the legion of ships and sprayed an orange mist that covered all of them. The Kremlings started to cough as they inhaled the mist, but after a few seconds it dissipated and the soldiers were otherwise unharmed.

The plane pulled up back to the sky and the birds reunited with its occupants. "What was the point of that?" Quawks asked.

"Wait for it." Funky advised. All of a sudden, the massive swarm that was attacking the lead ship for dropping the Kongs abandoned it and headed straight for the ships below. The Kremlings there were freaking out, hiding inside the ships and screaming is the large insect's spear like stingers pierced through the wood. Kaptain Skurvy in particular, was freaking out at the sheer number of them.

"Abandon ship, men!" He shouted.

"But Kaptain," one of his sailors said, "what about the king?"

"Forget the king! It's every Kremling for himself!" Kaptain Skurvy shot at the wall and through the swarm of zingers outside before making his way through and diving into the sea. Skurvy began swimming back to Crocodile Isle, keeping his head down so as to not attract the zingers attention. The other kremlings saw this and followed suit.

"You heard the Kaptain!" One of them shouted. "Let's get the hell out of here!" All of them ran through the zingers, getting stung pretty badly along the way, and dived into the water, swimming their way back to shore and leaving their boats for the bugs.

Up in the sky, Funky and Stuffwell watched their plan unfold flawlessly. "Zinger Queen pheromones," Stuffwell explained. "Quite potent. It draws the attention of the zingers more than honey ever could. With this, the aerial forces are free to drop off their payload."

"With absolutely no idea that our bros will be ready for them," Funky finished.

"Just as I planned!" Squawks claimed.

"You?" Parry said suspiciously.

"Yep! I told them all about that smelly stuff and how we can use it to get rid of the zingers. I had it figured out right from the start!"

"I knew you had a plan, cuz!" Quawks cheered.

"Uh, actually-" Funky began.

"Pssst!" Funky looked down and saw Parry whispering to him. "Just let him have this. The guy looks up to him." After seeing the look of admiration Quawks was giving to his cousin, Funky just shrugged his shoulders and kept his mouth shut.

"In any case," Stuffwell said, "all that remains for us to do now is to wait."

"Yep," Funky agreed, "we'll stay up here and keep an eye out in case K. Rool tries anything funny."

"So the fate of the entire island rests on those guys?" Parry asked.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Squawks reassured. "We've seen those guys fight remember? Trust me, they got this."

* * *

Back in his lair, King K. Rool was bored. His chief scientist hadn't called about how the weapon was coming along and none of his troops were giving any updates on their missions. He was so bored that he took a nap. He was resting so deeply, dreaming about world domination and the extinction of the Kongs, only to be interrupted by the loud beeping from his monitor. The loud noise shocked the tyrant out of his dream and he grumpily pressed the button. The monitors showed the face of a skinny Kremling wearing an oversized soldier's helmet.

"My King, this is second-in-command of the Donkey Kong Karrier, Kruncha speaking."

"Second-in-command?" the King said, confused. "What happened to your CO?"

"General Klump is currently resting in the medical bay. He had received major damage from the zinger attack and the result was...rather unpleasant to say the least."

"Klump? Oh yeah, that guy! Watching him getting stung by those zingers was funny at first but then it got dull about an hour ago."

"That's probably for the best, sir. I can assure you that seeing General Klump as he is now would _not_ be funny. Which brings me to my main point. The zingers have abandoned their assault and we're ready for your commands."

"So the bugs finally buzzed off, huh? Let me get back to you on that." K. Rool hung up and contacted Chief Scientist Kalculus once more.

"Great Emperor K. Rool, to what do I owe the magnificent honor of your-"

"Save it," K. Rool said while rolling his eyes. "Is the device ready yet?"

"Um, almost, your lordship. It'll take at least another half-hour."

K. Rool let out an annoyed groan and hung up. After getting back with Kruncha, he asked, "How long will it take to get there?"

"About a half-hour, sir."

"Proceed to drop off the Kongs post-haste."

"Yes, sir!" Kruncha saluted and then hung up.

"It's high time those banana munching flea-bags finally disappear from my sight. Look out DK Isle, you have no idea what's coming next!"


	35. Rise of the Robo-Kongs-Part 4

Our heroes were in position, awaiting the arrival of the Robo-Kongs. Luigi, Rambi, and Ellie were resting by the cave that lead into the mines. Sonic, Expresso and Squitter were waiting impatiently for Tiny and Dixie to show up in the jungle. Candy, Yoshi, Rattly, and Winky were trying to keep themselves warm for their big brawl with Diddy and Lanky. And Mario, Shadow, and Cranky were standing at the top of the volcano, getting ready to save Donkey Kong.

Mario took deep breaths to calm himself. With just one chance to save the island, he couldn't afford to let nerves get to him. Shadow had his arms crossed, furious that he couldn't get the chance to wipe the floor with the Kremlings with their own Chaos power. And Cranky's face was an unshakable canvas of grim determination ready to save his grandson.

"You still have the deactivation code?" Cranky asked Mario.

"Mm-hmm," Mario reached into his pocket and pulled out the little blue strip of paper containing a string of fifteen numbers. He showed it to Cranky and then put it back in his pocket.

"And you're sure it's the right one."

"I can't really say," Mario admitted. "Candy's the one who gave it to me."

"Then we should be fine. Funky may be smart but Candy's one of the few Kongs that doesn't have a screw loose. I trust her judgement, though frankly I don't have a choice."

"We'll win, Cranky," Mario assured him. "We always do."

"Remind me how exactly," Shadow interrupted. "If I remember correctly, the panel to input the deactivation code is right between the robot's eyes. I highly doubt he's just going to let us stand on his face and do nothing."

"Which is why I'm giving the code to you," Mario handed Shadow the code. "You're the fastest one here. Once we bring him down, you'll have seconds to type it in and get him out of there."

"Heh, more than enough time for the Ultimate Life Form. Your grandson is in good hands, old man."

"You better hope he is," Cranky said. "Otherwise, we'll all be flash-fried."

The three of them heard helicopter blades and looked over the horizon to see the quartet of air carriers delivering the trapped Kongs. They flew over Gorilla Glacier, where the rear carrier dropped off Robo-Diddy and Robo-Lanky. Diddy used his jet-pack to safely descend to the mountain's summit, whereas Lanky just fell flat on his face. The two of them looked to their opponents and howled loud enough to shake some of the snow and ice off of the mountain.

The carrier that dropped the two of them off immediately turned back to Crocodile Isle, meanwhile, the other three split up and went to the three areas marked on K. Rool's plans.

"Looks like we'll have to keep waiting," Cranky said. "Are you sure your friends can handle them?"

"Well," Shadow said, "they're not utterly incompetent."

"That's Shadow's way of saying 'yes'," Mario explained. "What about you? Are you worried about your clan at all?"

"Why would I be?" Cranky answered.

Mario was taken aback by Cranky's laissez-faire "Well, for one thing, they could get killed!"

"Nah. A Kong might might get kidnapped, a Kong might get caged. But killed? Forget it! Ever since I founded this place, apes came from all over looking for a home. For family. And we're not gonna lose that to anyone; not haunted tikis, not viking penguins, and especially not to a pot-bellied, bulgy-eyed psychopath and his army of dimwits!"

"Well," Shadow said, "I'd say we're in a good position to see how strong your clan's convictions really are."

The three of them looked towards the mountains in the North, watching the two Robo-Kongs do battle with the heroes sent to save their home and them.

* * *

The mechanical monkeys started to take to the skies, Diddy with his jetpack and Lanky by inflating himself. Before they could, Winky and Yoshi shot out their long, sticky tongues and latched themselves each to one of the rockets on Diddy's jetpack. They pulled themselves closer, seemingly flying straight towards the giant monkey. Just as they reached him, they flipped over, dragging Diddy with them and throwing him head-first into the snow.

As Lanky inhaled, Candy climbed aboard Rattly and the coiled up snake jumped. The intense winds heading straight towards Lanky's robotic lips carried them closer towards their target. Candy raised Donkey's coconut cannon and fired. The hard, hairy fruit was blasted straight towards the Robo-Kong's pursed lips. The coconut clogged Lanky's personal vacuum, and Candy and Rattly were now flying through the air. The she-ape jumped off of her friend, leaving the log behind as to not slow her down, and landed right on top of the orangutan's red nose.

Candy got up and ran straight towards Lanky's eyes. She pulled out the code to release her friend, getting it ready so she can get him out as soon as she could when the ground, or rather the face, beneath her feet began to shake.

Lanky had still absorbed a large amount of air. And now that his main method of releasing that air was all plugged up, he'd have to use an alternative route.

Lanky unleashed foul stream of noxious smelling fumes from between his glutes.

He farted, in other words.

His fart was blasting him off like a rocket. He flew around the mountain top chaotically with no way to control where he'd go or how long it'd last. Candy tried to hang on for dear life, but as Lanky's face was slick metal, there was nothing to grab on to. She fell off of the mechanical orangutan and began to plummet to her doom. She screamed as she saw the snow come closer only to notice something strong and wet wrap around her. She looked to her torso and saw what looked like a thick pink rope tied around her stomach. She yelped as she was yanked to the side and into the arms of a certain green dinosaur.

"My hero," Candy said in a playful tone.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Yoshi asked.

"For the next five seconds, maybe." Yoshi was confused before following her line of sight and seeing that Robo-Diddy had gotten his head unstuck and was pointing two glowing pistols at him. Our four champions braced for impact before Lanky arrived and accidentally collided with Diddy, knocking them both to the snow.

"Well, that was lucky," Winky commented. Yoshi put Candy down and Rattly handed her coconut cannon back .

"Thanks, sweetie," she said. "Clearly we're going to need a way to get on their faces and stay on there."

"I can do it," Winky said. He placed a thumb to the pad on his hand and after struggling to remove it, he had demonstrated his stickiness.

"Well that helps us a little bit," Yoshi said. "But it's not like they're going to let us walk up to them."

Robo-Diddy pushed Robo-Lanky off of him, and the two of them got up and glared at their opponents. They knew that for their mission to succeed, they'd have to die first. Diddy pointed his pistols at them and they began charging.

"I have an idea!" Rattly said excitably. "But you two need to keep them busy." He pointed at Candy and Yoshi.

"Can we at least hear what the plan is first?" Yoshi asked him.

"No time!" Candy said. She shoved everyone out of the way of Diddy's first shot. The four of them lied in a heap before Candy got up and pulled Yoshi to his feet. "We're just going to have to trust them. I got Diddy, you get Lanky. Winky, help him however you can."

Yoshi and Candy ran straight for their targets while Winky got back on his webbed feet.

"Follow me!" Rattly ordered. He went in the opposite direction of the action and the frog followed closely.

Candy was charging straight towards Diddy, her coconut cannon at the ready. Diddy fired a second shot directly at her but Candy fired a shot of her own and the two projectiles collided, exploding right in between the two apes. This went on with Diddy firing Chaos Energy and Candy firing coconuts. Neither of their projectiles managed to hit the other, instead striking each other's ammunition in a spectacular explosion.

Seeing this, Diddy changed strategies. He took to the skies and flew forward in Candy's direction. As he did, he fired at the ground beneath him, leaving large craters on the mountaintop that were making their way towards Candy. Candy jumped to the side, just before the next shot nearly blew her head off. Unfortunately, Diddy merely changed direction and kept on with his assault. Candy was forced to run and jump out of the way until Winky's plan finally started.

Back with Yoshi, the little dinosaur was doing some hopping around of his own. He was avoiding Lanky's stretchy arms while the orangutan kept trying to grab him. At one point, when Lanky reached for him, instead of Yoshi jumping to the left or the right he leapt straight up and landed on his arm. He ran along it straight towards its owner only for Lanky to shake his arm up and down, sending Yoshi into the air, leaving him defenseless as Lanky wrapped his other hand tightly around him and pulled him close to his face.

Lanky's eyes went wide in confusion as he opened his fist and saw a large spotted egg inside rather than his captured quarry. The egg burst open and Yoshi leapt out towards his opponent. He threw a smaller egg right into one of his eyes and as Lanky clutched the area trying to get the egg out, Yoshi shot out his tongue and it stuck to his face. He pulled himself forwards, delivering a flying kick that knocked the enormous ape down.

Lanky landed on his back and Yoshi landed right between his eyes. But before he could open the panel, Lanky snatched him again. After getting back on his feet, Lanky stretched out his arm and slammed his open palm against the side of a boulder, with Yoshi right between the two. He reeled his arm back and revealed Yoshi, flattened like a pancake and surrounded by several cracks on the boulder he was stuck to.

After pushing himself out, Yoshi hid inside an egg once again and ran at full speeds. He circled around Robo-Lanky. Every time the mechanical mammal tried to grab him, he was too slow. Having had enough of this, Lanky slammed his palms in the ground to his sides, creating a shockwave that lifted Yoshi off the ground. Lanky quickly punched Yoshi sending him on a collision course to one of Diddy's energy blasts.

The egg was right under one of Diddy's pistols when he pulled the trigger. The explosion pushed Diddy Kong back and blasted Yoshi straight towards Candy. The two of them skidded through the snow, leaving behind a deep groove several yards long before stopping in the center of a ring of large rocks. Yoshi hatched out of the egg, bruised but otherwise fine. He noticed Candy underneath him, similarly damaged.

"Oh man!" Yoshi said. "I am so sorry!" Yoshi lent her a hand and helped her back up.

"It's fine," Candy assured him. "Right now, my biggest concern is-" She was cut off by the sound of something powering up. She and Yoshi both turned to see Diddy charging both of his pistols to finish them off. The two of them tried to run but they were surrounded at all sides. They were trapped.

* * *

"Dude!" Winky shouted at Rattly as the latter stretched himself out by tying himself up around two trees. "Whatever your plan is, now would be a good time to do it!"

"I agree 100%!" Rattly said, having just finished tying himself up. "Hop on!"

"What?"

"You said you could stick to them, right? Well first, you need to get up to them. So I'm going to slingshot you to Diddy's face so you could stick to it and type in the code."

"You're crazy!"

"I'd rather be crazy than dead. So quit complaining and do it already!"

Winky grumbled but complied with Rattly's instructions. He hopped over to the snake slingshot and pressed his back against him. He pushed back as far as Rattly could go.

"Are you ready?" The rattlesnake asked Winky.

"No," the frog answered nervously.

"Too bad!" Winky screamed as Rattly propelled him forwards with speed comparable to a train. The frog flew through the sky, panic gripping him as he grew closer and closer to Robo-Diddy's expressionless face. He crashed right into him with the force of bullet, disorienting him into wasting his shot and firing into the sky rather than at Candy and Yoshi.

Winky peeled himself off and watched the rectangle of metal in front of him slide away to reveal nine large buttons, each with different numbers on them, and a long green screen with fifteen lines all standing in a row. He unstuck one of his hands and reached behind him. He pulled out the code for Diddy and began typing. He didn't even put in the first digit before he felt metal fingers squeeze his body and try to pull him off.

Winky slapped his hand back on to Diddy's face, trying desperately to not be removed. That just made the mechanical monkey pull harder and Winky had no choice but to use all of his sticking power to remain attached. His hands no longer an option, Winkystarted typing in the code with his tongue. Silently praying that he was typing in the correct numbers, all the while Diddy kept trying to yank him off.

He had just finished typing in the last number.

The screen glowed green once.

Twice.

Three times.

And then it let out a light ding sound and the entire area just above Diddy's nose opened upwards like a door. Once it was fully opened Winky saw what K. Rool and the others have done with the real Diddy.

He had a large white helmet strapped to his head, the top of which had a long thick, black cable that reached to the top of the fake Diddy's skull. His hands were surrounded by white metal rings that moved as he did. These rings attached themselves directly to Diddy's wrists through tmall wires that hooked into his skin. His waist was also surrounded by a white ring that hung tightly to him like a belt. From the lower side of this ring sprung millions of cables, so many you couldn't even see the lower half of his body.

Winky was so shocked by this, he couldn't pay attention to staying attached to Robo-Diddy's face. Diddy pulled him away as far as he could. But just before he lost his grip, Winky shot out his tongue and wrapped tightly around the real monkey. He yanked as hard as he could, ripping the real Diddy out of his giant mechanical counterpart, the two of them soared through the air before crashing back onto the mountain side.

As Winky pulled himself up, he heard groaning right next to him. "Diddy!" he exclaimed. He turned Diddy on his back and tried to shake him awake. "Diddy! Are you alright? Say something!"

Diddy slowly opened his eyes. As his pupils adjusted he was able to make out the image of his old friend. "Winky?" he said, "Is that you?"

"You're alright!"Winky shouted with glee. He wrapped Diddy up around his slimy front legs and hugged him tight. Diddy was confused at first but before he could ask what was going on something else caught his attention, the giant robot version of him that was starting to fall over right on top of them.

"Uh, Winky?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"We need to go. Now!"

"Why?" Winky heard the creaking of metal against metal and turned around. "Oh, I see." But by then it was too late. The two of them scream as they watched Robo-Diddy's came closer to crush them into goo. But just then, something pink and slimy wrapped around them and pulled them out of danger. The two of them opened their eyes and saw Candy and Yoshi standing right in front of them.

Candy rubbed Diddy's head, messing up his hat. "Good to have you back, little guy."

"Did I go somewhere?" Diddy asked completely confused.

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to focus on-" But before Candy could finish her sentence, Yoshi pulled the two boys into his mouth. He then shot out his tongue and wrapped it around Candy. Candy yelped as she was dragged inside with Diddy and Winky. Yoshi curled himself into an egg, just before a massive torrent of fire completely enveloped them.

It turns out, while everyone was focusing on Robo-Diddy, Robo-Lanky was getting his fire breath ready. As he breathed, the snow and ice began to melt. Waves of hot water flowed down the mountainside. Large rocks became loose and tumbled to the ground below. Trees were splintered and uprooted. Animals living near the mountains ran for their lives to avoid the flood. Eventually, the water was absorbed into the earth and the chaos had ended. For now.

Lanky ran out of air and landed back on the mountaintop, which had become considerably closer to the ground than it was before. Yoshi hatched out of his egg and spat out his allies.

"Sorry about that," he told everyone sheepishly. "I didn't think you guys cared for the smell of burnt hair."

The three of them looked around in awe and fright as the mountain head they stood on had been reduced to ruin and flames.

Winky eyes went wide with fire, as he remembered the one person in their group that wasn't protected. "Rattly! Rattly, where are you?"

"Over here, guys!" Everyone's eyes turned to the sound of Rattly's voice and found him wrapped around a burnt tree that was dangling dangerously over a cliff. "I'd come and meet you guys but uh, I'm kinda too scared to move."

"Hang on! We'll get you out of there," Winky assured him.

"Forget me!" Rattly shouted. "Stop that thing before he melts the whole mountain!"

"I'm on it!" Candy said. "Here, hold this," She pulled out the code for Lanky and handed it to Diddy. She then ran straight towards Robo-Lanky with her cannon ready. "Hey, Lanky!" she shouted. "Suck on this!"

She pulled the trigger and a barrage of coconuts started flying, pelting Robo-Lanky all over. The giant orangutan took notice and fired an extending arm straight at her. Candy ducked and rolled and fired again. Yoshi, Winky, and Rattly looked at her in awe while Diddy looked at the passcode in confusion.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Diddy asked, holding up the blue strip. Yoshi turned to him and caught him up to speed. So all we need to do is type that code in Lanky and we can save him?"

"Yeah, that's just about it," Yoshi answered. "The better question is, how are we going to get there." Yoshi jumped as two little rockets seemed to pop out from Diddy's back.

"Leave it to me," he said with confidence. Diddy took off to the skies and rocketed straight towards his friend. Unfortunately, his friend got the same idea. After managing to smack Candy aside, Lanky began sucking in air again. By the time Diddy arrived, Lanky was already halfway to full blimp mode. Diddy landed on his face and placed a hand between his eyes. The panel opened up and Diddy punched in the code as fast as he could. The metal beneath his feet was cool, but was slowly getting warmer as Lanky was getting ready to burn the rest of the mountain down.

Diddy typed in the last number and a door opened up, revealing the real Lanky in the same situation that he was. Diddy raced over and tried to pull him out but he didn't know where to start.

By that time he figured out what to do, it was too late. Robo-Lanky put his lips together and blew. Candy just barely had enough time to duck behind a large boulder, while the others ran from the flames as fast as they could, latching onto the tree Rattly was on and praying it wouldn't snap.

Diddy pulled out his peanut guns and, making sure not to hit the orangutan, opened fire on all the equipment keeping him in place. All of the machines broke and Lanky started to fall deeper into the robot. But Diddy grabbed him just in time and flew him out of there.

With Lanky removed, the gigantic Robo-Lanky had nothing to keep it conscious. The robot stopped its assault and floated lifelessly in the air, its stomach slightly extended from the leftover air inside.

Diddy landed gently on to the mountain, carrying the unconscious Lanky around his shoulder. "Is everyone okay?" he shouted.

Candy peeked out from behind the boulder and smiled at Diddy. "I'm okay," she told him. "Nice job, kid."

"Way to go, buddy!" Rattly shouted from the tree he, Yoshi, and Winky were clinging on to for dear life.

"Yeah, good job," Yoshi was nervous as the tree became less and less stable with all of their weight on it. "Now do you think you can use that fancy jetpack to get us out of here?"

Diddy was about to put Lanky down to do just that but Candy stopped him. "Look." She pointed up back to Robo-Lanky, who was slowly descending down to the mountaintop.

"You think something bad will happen?" Diddy asked her.

"Let's not stay to find out." Candy took Lanky's other arm and wrapped it around herself. The two of them ran towards the tree as Robo-Lankey's deactivated frame edged closer to the surface. They jumped on the tree with everyone else and it immediately snapped under everyone's weight. The tree started sliding down the mountain just as Robo-Lanky hit the mountaintop, exploding with enough force, it shook everything around it like a magnitude 10 earthquake.

Our heroes clung for dear life as they slid down the mountainside. Rattly looked behind them and went wide-eyed in terror.

"Incoming!" he shouted. Everyone turned to look at the giant boulders raining down upon them. The earlier explosion had caused an avalanche and if our team doesn't play their cards right, they'll be its first victims.


End file.
